


Levi x Reader:The cold consultant (Modern Detective AU)

by Fangirlotaku



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-15 10:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2226468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlotaku/pseuds/Fangirlotaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are a respected, young Policewoman working for the reputed Erwin Smith squad unit. An encounter with an infamous criminal in the underground network, leads to your team adding a new member to their squad: A cold, clean-freak consultant.<br/>Disclaimer: I do not own ANY shingeki no kyojin characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> Author note: This is my first try at writing fan-fiction, though I have written some short stories before, so ALL criticism is welcome.  
> Background on you: You are a top-notch young policewoman who has been working with the police for years, and it pays off as you officially get recruited for the reputed Erwin Smith's squad unit.  
> I do not own any Shingeki no Kyojin characters.  
> I do not own you (though I do control your actions). Enjoy :)

"Don't. Move." you threatened, a gun pointed at the man. You were panting slightly and your wet (h/c) strands of hair stuck to the back of your neck and face, as you were soaked to the boot, the rain pounding furiously around you. The man didn't seem at all out of breath from the long chase you both had partaken in, and there was no hint of emotion in his steel grey eyes at the sight of your gun. He muttered something under his breath.  
"WHAT?" you yelled, unable to hear even yourself within the noise of the battering rain against the concrete ground, and the sound of the lively city around you. You had effectively trapped the man in an alleyway and to emphasise that he had no where to go, you cocked you gun and yelled, "Put your hands up in the air!"  
"Tch." muttered the man, and raised his hands up slowly. His raven hair hung over his eyes, and he looked at with you with nothing but contempt in his face. The radio attached to your side buzzed loudly with static before projecting a voice, "(l/n)! Have you caught the suspect?"  
"I have it under control, inform the squad," you replied, and aimed your gun lower to the mans leg as you approached him cautiously, in case he tried to make a move you could immobilize him. You took out a pair of handcuffs from behind your back. The minute he caught the glint of steel from your pockets, the man tensed his body. Before you could react he looked up to the low rooftop beside the both of you, and lowered his hands, and within seconds he coiled his body for an escape...  
"NO!" you yelled... *BANG*... the sound of the gunshot, drowned by the rain and the city reverberated in your ears as you stared at your motionless culprit, now laying on the ground.  
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0  
You felt a hand on your shoulder and looked up at your colleague Mikasa Ackerman, "You should go in now." You nodded, breaking out of your day-dream, and glanced through the one way mirror, over at the interrogation room. You pulled the door handle and shut it securely, walking in and sitting next to your partner Jean Kirstein, who passed over a clear file with papers to you. You flipped through the pages, while Jean talked, "So (f/n) It seems our suspect here is very shy. He has yet to tell us his name."  
You looked up at the man sitting opposite you, his dark hair messy, and his right thigh bandaged. He glares at you, his cloudy grey eyes boring into yours as you aggressively stared at each other. You broke eye contact calmly, reminding yourself to stay in control of the interrogation, "You have limited to no options on the table right now, unless you offer up the information we know you have, you're going to be kept in this cell for a very long time." His eyes widened at the thought, and he glanced wildly at the white washed walls and tiled floor.  
"It's filthy." he muttered. Jean cocked up his head quickly and replied, "What? so you do have a voice huh?"  
"It's filthy." The man spoke, louder this time, "I refuse to be in this room any longer." You leaned back in your chair, internally assessing the absurdity of the situation you were just in, and trying to analyse this strange man's behaviour and personality. Jean sighed, "Well, you'll just have to deal with it, OR you can hand over the information and maybe be transferred to a cleaner site." he smirked as he uttered those last few words.  
You decided it was time to get serious, "Okay, listen, we caught you red-handed at the scene as well as found several of your DNA samples there. We have several witnesses attesting to your presence there. We checked out your so-called alibi, and it turned out to be a lie, so don't think for a SECOND that we don't have enough evidence to detain you here for a while. I suggest that you cooperate with us, and maybe we can cut you a deal and get you lesser time in prison. But make no mistake," you glanced up and bored into his eyes, "You WILL go to prison, and every second you waste not working with us, will only prolong your fate, not prevent it."  
You chucked the clear file over to him, jabbing your finger at it and speaking, "Tell us everything you know about these people." The suspect spared the file a glance and simply stared at you and Jean. "Stubborn, isn't he" you thought to yourself. Jean glared at him angrily and opened the file to page 2, pointing at the pictures of two people there, one a young girl and another a man, "Do you know these people?" he demanded. The suspect glanced down at the two pictures and immediately his body tensed. His emotionless face showed only a hint of recognition and sadness before it returned to the poker face he wore. He looked up slowly maintaining eye-contact with you and spoke,  
"Levi."  
Jean and you stared eagerly, glad that the suspect was finally co-operating,  
"My name is Levi Ackerman."


	2. two

Jean had to stop a smug smile from appearing on his face. The suspect had finally talked. Levi stared at the both of you, and spoke again, "If I told you I knew these two people, what can you offer me?" he stated blatantly. Jean and you quickly glanced at each other... finally, some progress.  
"That depends on what you know about them," Jean replied, to which Levi 'tsked'. He pointed his face in the direction of his arms handcuffed behind his chair, and spoke "Release my hands. I refuse to answer any of your questions until you do." You stared at him, trying to assess whether he would indeed keep his word or was trying something. His poker face gave away nothing of his intent, and you decided that even if he did try something, there were over a dozen police officers in the office that could easily restrain him.  
Before you could give your reply, the room door swung open, and Eren Yaeger, a new recruit stepped in briefly, "Officer (l/n), the Commander is calling for you in his office." He stood waiting for your reply. You shut your mouth which was open in surprise and asked, "Right, I'll be right there." you then turn to face Jean, as Eren leaves, "Jean, Don't do anything rash while I'm gone, got it?" you whisper so that the suspect can't hear you. Jean and you had been close partners for a long time, developing a close relationship of trust, but you had known him long enough to know he usually disliked following protocol and regulations.  
Jean rolls his eyes and nods getting back to the files. Levi watches you walk out the door, the hint of a smirk on his face, which disappears as soon as Jean turns to him.  
You walk past the busy office, and stop before the Commander's door. "Sir? This is (l/n) (f/n)" you knock politely. The commander tells you to enter, and you do, sitting down opposite his large mahogany table as he nods for you to be seated. Commander Erwin Smith faces you, his neat, short blonde hair swept to the side and a rather handsome smile on his face, "Officer (l/n), I know you were busy in your interrogation, but this concerns the suspect." You nod respectively, "Of course, Sir, what is it?" He grins, "There's no need to be so official, just call me Erwin, you know I dislike this hierarchy stuff when it comes to my squad." You nod, a smile on your face.  
Commander Erwin was very well-respected and had led his team to solve several sucessful cases over the last few years. He was one of the few young men of his rank, and his charm could reduce a higher ranking woman officer to a giggling schoolgirl. Erwin sighs, "Initially, I had not planned to disclose this, but a sudden turn of events has forced my hand. That suspect you are detaining, I want your team to release him." Your eyes widened in shock, "Release? But we just got him talking, He's almost willing to cooperate with us, I just need a few more minutes, Erwin."  
Erwin's blue eyes darted across to you and he crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, "I understand (f/n) However, there has been a change of events. I will breif the squad on the suspect myself. But, I don't want him to be detained anymore. You understand? Release him, but don't let him out of the office. Keep him in one of the cubicles if you have to and wait for further instructions."  
You nodded slightly, confused but trusting the Commander's judgement completely. Erwin flashed a weary smile, "Thank you officer (l/n), inform the others to not attack him or talk to him until I arrive. Remember, I don't want any kind of interrogation to continue."  
"Very well, Sir." You agree, supressing your curiosity about this suspect as you left the Commander's office. You enter the interrogation and to Jean's utter shock, say, "Alright Ackerman, you're free." you walk toward Levi, unlocking his handcuffs and opening the door for him, "But remember, I will be watching you like a hawk, you are NOT to leave this office."  
"Any place is better than this shitty room," Levi replied before calmly walking out the door. You shake your head at Jean's resistance and mouth the words 'Erwin's orders'. Jean sighs disappointed, clearing the table of files and heading out with you.  
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0  
"So," Levi spoke up, sipping his tea, resting comfortably against the sofa in the break room, "You're officer (l/n) (f/n)?" He darted his sharp eyes towards you. You decided to ignore him. "Answer me, brat." You glared at him, surprised and offended by his sudden authority, wondering how he knew your name. Mikasa walked in and seeing the glint in your eyes, spoke, "Haha, is the office hothead trying to pick a fight with..." She stopped in her tracks as she saw Levi drinking tea, his boots off. "What is he doing here?" she asked bluntly. Her short raven hair was tied up, and her menacing black eyes appraised Levi.  
"I wanted some tea, and a clean room. " Levi answered, Mikasa snapped, "I didn't ask you," to which Levi angirly put down his teacup in his saucer and glared at her. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. You were glad when Eren interrupted the hostile silence, to inform you and the rest that Commander Erwin wanted the entire team and the suspect to gather in the presentation room.  
"Finally," Levi spoke dryly, as he set down his tea, and dusted himself off. He was the first to leave and as you followed after him, you were filled with curiosity as to what the identity of this annoying, short man really was.


	3. three

The entire group filed into the presentation room, and a murmuring filled the room as they saw Levi sit down next to the Commander. Erwin was flipping through some files, waiting for everyone to be seated. The murmuring came to an abrupt halt as Commander Erwin stood up, his hands behind his back, and addressed the team. Levi simply stared at nothing in particular, oblivious to the curious glances the team was giving him. Erwin spoke, his deep voice flowing through the room, "Officers, this case we have been dealing with for the past few weeks is a strange one. Initially when our team first investigated the serial murders, I was suspicious of the obvious nature of each of the crimes. The motives for murder seemed almost... superficial, and not the cold-blooded planned attack that it really was. We apprehended the man responsible for the deaths of these twenty men, but closer inspection of his profile revealed that the murders seem to go much deeper. We recently discovered that the underground organization, called the 'Titans' are responsible for organizing and staging the crimes."   
Eren clenched his fists at the name, and Mikasa's pretty face turned grim. There was a contemplative silence that filled the room as all the officers recognised the organization and their hideous crimes.  
"They have been very good at hiding, and haven't been caught yet, and every member who is caught is released due to insufficient evidence and their talented lawyers. We have never directly encountered them as it wasn't our jurisdiction. But," Erwin glanced up, looking every officer in the eye, "recent evidence all seems to point in their direction. These murders were too well planned, to be the work of one vengeful man. And I don't think it is a coincidence that the victims are all wealthy men, seemingly unrelated to each other."  
You listened carefully, already aware of the facts Erwin was stating, yet curious as to why he was revealing all this in front of their suspect. You felt a soft hand on your thigh and glanced quickly to see Jean leave a small note on your lap. You peeked at him questioningly, then read the note which followed,   
'Why is Erwin letting out all our info in front of this perp? I don't like the look on his face, He's definitely suspicious. Any ideas why Erwin is being so... casual with him?' You flipped the note around, and looked down while writing your reply...  
"Oi." you heard a familiar voice suddenly, and quickly snapped your head up to the suspect. Levi had his arms crossed and the entire room was staring at him, in amazement at his interruption of Erwin's briefing. "Why don't you pay attention, for once?" demanded Levi.  
Your blood boiled. This perp was acting like he was your superior, his face oozing comfort and confidence in this environment. Before you could respond, Erwin placed his hand on Levi's shoulder, "Levi.." he muttered, his tone demanding but not threatening. Levi shrugged off the Commander's hand, and looked away. Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose, "Before I further brief all of you, I suppose introductions should be made." Erwin glanced sharply at Levi. Jean, Mikasa, and you leaned forward in anticipation.  
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0  
"Just orange juice, thanks." you muttered to the bartender. You felt intoxicated enough without the alcohol anyway. Doubt, and confusion fluttered in your brain, leaving you with a throbbing in your temples and an emotion of frustration. You felt the chair beside you slide loudly and a thump as someone sat down. Your throbbing increased as you heard the all too familiar deep monotone of Ackerman.  
"So, officer (l/n)," he spoke, cradling his cup, "How is the investigation going?"   
"Shut up, shorty" you replied angrily, grabbed your drink, and got off your chair. You headed towards the table that was occupied with your good friends and colleagues Mikasa, Sasha, and Jean. "What did you say to him?" asked Sasha, empty packets of potato chips strewn around her, "He looks pissed."   
"Oh man just a few minutes in that interrogation room, and I would have had him spilling his guts. You should have seen the look on his face when I yelled at him, he was terrified," Jean bragged, crossing his arms behind his head and closing his eyes, a smug expression. Sasha snorted, "Sure, Jean, whatever you say."   
"(f/n), Do you really believe what Commander Erwin said about him?" MIkasa stated, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, "I don't feel comfortable working alongside him.." "WAIT, WHAT?!" Sasha interrupted, "You guys have to work with him??!"  
You sighed as you remembered that Sasha was absent from the meeting, sleeping soundly as usual in her cubicle. "The Commander said that Ackerman would be a valuable asset to our investigation. Apparently," you spoke, "He has been working undercover with the Titans, in order to expose them from the inside and has been very loyal to the police. Of course, this doesn't explain whether he is working for the police or is a private detective, or anything really, but Commander Erwin is being very secretive about the whole deal." Sasha's big brown eyes widened at your monologue.  
"Tch, brats," Levi spoke, contempt dripping through his voice, as he stood in front of your table, "I don't look forward to working with you sorry excuses for police officers, either. But,"  his eyes travelled over to yours, where he held his gaze unblinkingly, "It should be interesting....."  
"Officer (l/n), Break time's almost over, meet me in my office." Levi ordered, walking out of the bar/café. Sasha spoke stupendously, "He gets his own OFFICE?!"  
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o  
It didn't take you long to realise that "his office" meant your larger than average cubicle. It was almost hard to recognize at first, the warm wooden desk was shining with cleanliness, and the computer screen and keyboard had been wiped off of dust with precision. The chair cushions had been meticulously dusted, and every object on the table had been neatly organized into the drawers. Papers had been filed and arranged in both alphabetical and dated order. The air around you smelled like detergent. But you saw a photograph of your favourite celebrity and your meagre possessions exactly where you had kept them. You glanced over at the occupant of your sole chair.  
"Why don't you grab a chair and sit, while I explain how this is going to work," Levi spoke. You sat down in confusion, next to him and noticed that he had placed his files and belongings right beside yours.  
No, you thought, No way....  
"Commander Erwin has a lot of trust in your abilities as a capable officer, and has decided that you should head the investigation. As a result, I am going to be in close contact with you at all times, so it only seems convenient that we are sharing workspace," Levi continued completely unfazed, "Though I must warn you," There was a sharp glint in his steely eyes, "You will cleaning this area to my satisfaction, on a regular basis. Dirty spaces hinder my thought processes." He stated matter of factly.  
You had to hold back a dirty comeback, and Levi smirked slightly, at your disgruntled expression. "If these are the Commander's orders, then I cannot complain." you replied, and Levi approved of your professionalism. You decided that if you were going to spend so much time with this annoyance, you might as well get some answers, "If you're so willing to cooperate all of a sudden, why did you try to escape the police?" you glanced in the direction of the wound you had caused on his thigh, in reminder.   
He merely appraised you, as if trying to analyse your intentions. Finally, he leaned forward, maintaining eye contact, and your faces were close enough for you to discover the scent of bleach from his neck. "You're way far down the ladder to have access to the kind of information I have, (f/n)", you disliked the way he uttered your name, "Keep that in mind the next time you try to talk back to me." He leaned back into his chair, and passed a folder of papers over to your side of the desk, glancing over at your tense body, and taking in the look of repressed annoyance in your (e/c) eyes.  
"We should get to work, (f/n)" He stated simply, snatching his eyes away from you.


	4. 4

You stretched yourself, bending backwards and leaning heavily against your chair. You had a direct view of Erwin's office, and could see shadows looming inside.  You scratched your messy hair. If there was one thing you disliked, it was being kept out of the loop, and this entire ordeal was exactly that: a case filled with misinformation and annoying confidential papers.  
You were about to close your eyes in rest, when you suddenly felt your head abruptly be whacked by a stack of papers. You looked up and saw Jean, the papers in hand, staring down at you. "Where's your new partner?" he asked disgruntled, eyeing the chair beside you with distaste. He had been displeased, to say the least, ever since Erwin "replaced" his position beside you in the investigation.  
You sat up straight and pinched the bridge of your nose, "He's been in Erwin's office for quite some time now, I wonder what they're talking about." Jean huffed, "Probably Erwin debriefing him about this so called 'undercover mission' the guy took. I hope he gets some sense knocked into him, I don't care what Erwin says, the office is not happy about working together with him."  
"Hmm..." you pushed aside the clutter on your desk from last night, and pulled your keyboard forward. Typing furiously, you beckoned Jean towards the computer screen, "I didn't have a chance to run a proper background on him while he was breathing down my neck, but his profile is..." Jean leaned forward, casting a shadow over you, "interesting, to say the least." Jean's eyes widened.  
"You're kidding right, Erwin can't be serious about us working with an ex-criminal." Jean grumbled. According to the database, Levi was a heavy underground player before he was caught. The profile offered no details on the nature of the crime or the name of the officer who charged him, but merely stated that Levi proceeded on to work as a consultant for the force.  
Both yours and Jean's heads snapped up as the door to Erwin's office opened up and a familiar short man walked out."I'll see you later," Jean stated, walking away with a frown. Levi walked over to you and you immediately closed the window on his profile. "What was the meeting with the Commander about?" you asked, curious. Levi merely passed you to a paper with a photograph and some writing on it, "We should head out."   
"Are we looking for this man?" you asked, annoyed that he had ignored you. "He's a likely suspect.' is all Levi replied, as he put on a black overcoat, and walked towards the exit. You sighed, your thirst for knowledge as unsatisfied as ever, wondering whether he realised that YOU were supposed to be heading the investigation, and grabbed your coat, rushing alongside him.  
You both stepped out into the cold, the chilly breeze nipping at your necks, and you called a cab. Seated inside, you looked out the window, at the dark clouds assembling in the sky and sighed. You hated the rain. Levi passed out a note with an address to the driver, and the car started moving.  
It had only been about 15 minutes, when the cab halted, stuck in a long line of traffic. "Tch," Levi let out a noise of impatience, glancing at his wristwatch and looking outside the window at the same ominous clouds you had been dreading. "We'll get off here," he barked at the driver, passing over some money, grabbing your wrist and leaving the cab. He strode purposefully into an alley, his tight grip on your wrist, dragging you behind him. You had to admit, for a man with such short stature he had one hell of a grip. You halted in your tracks, tugging at the arm that held you, and said, "If you want us to work as a team, I need to know our end-goal here."  
Levi stopped walking, and released his grip on you. The both of you were now in a narrow alleyway, shielded from the harsh wind. You could see rundown apartment windows to your both sides, and noticed a cat scurry past from the corner of your eye. "I suppose we have a little time left," Levi spoke, and pointed back at the photograph of the man. "He was the second in succession of one of the companies we believe to be owned by the Titans. After the 'accidental' deaths," Levi emphasized 'accidental' sceptically, "of the head chairman, and his primary successor, he rose to power, and immediately the company's value increased.." You interrupted him, "It was steady at first, almost as if trying to avoid detection but for a company's growth to be so chronically successful, especially after the loss of its major shareholders, and so many of its team fired: it's suspicious." Levi nodded, acknowledging that you had managed to glean enough information from the papers he handed you within few minutes of the cab ride.  
"Seems somebody made a deal with the devil." Levi stated, and you replied, "I understand all that, but again, what’s our end-goal?" you repeated.   
"Do you have your gun on you?" he asked, absent mindedly, his eyes looking to your right. "Always." you nodded.  
"Our orders are the same you were given on the night you caught me," Levi turned his head back to you, his dark hair ruffling with the slight breeze, "Arrest on sight, and detain for questioning. Shoot to immobilize, not kill." You nodded, your hand sliding to the gun on your hips. Finally, some clear orders. You enjoyed straightforward briefings and orders, and had a strong motivation to act on them- one of the reasons why you were so good at your job. Levi glanced at his watch again, and began walking out the alley, you right on his heels.  
You noticed that he didn't have a gun, seeing as he didn't have permission to, and you realised that if it came down to it, it would be up to you to protect the both of you. You scoured the pathway you both had come across, and sighted a vending machine. Your eyes narrowed as you recognize the body and face of the man. You nudged Levi gently, who nodded slightly in agreement. It was him. The man in the photo. You looked for any potential threats, there seemed to none, the street was nearly empty except for the man.  
Arrest on sight. You placed your hand behind you, gripping your handcuffs so they were out of sight and ready to use, and placed a hand on Levi's chest, signalling him with your eyes to stop. Levi glanced at you emotionless, but stopped walking. You were glad: Finally, the man was listening to you. This was a job for the police, and besides you needed backup in case things went awry. You strode towards the man who was receiving change from the machine.  
He was wearing a cold blue suit, and holding a spotted blue umbrella in the other hand. You stood beside him and pulled out your badge calling out your credentials, followed by "You are under arrest, put your hands above your head," you were about to finish the official stuff, pulling out your handcuffs, ready to cuff him, when suddenly...  
The man smirked, and ten of his lackeys appeared from around the corner of the street, holding guns, "I believe YOU should be the one putting your hands above your head, Miss officer," The man rolled the word 'officer' in his mouth and spat it out. Your eyes widened, and you scowled, thinking furiously towards your next move, while simultaneously worried about Ackerman getting caught. They hadn't spotted him yet, but they would eventually. Almost surrounded by the ten men, you decided to take a risk. You threw your gun at the face of the one directly in front of you. It viciously hit him in the eye, and he dropped his arms. You jumped towards him, landing behind him.  
You were too fast for the men to take a shot.. yet. You guarded yourself with the huge torso of the man in front of you, gripping his neck and arm, digging your finger into his Adam’s apple, rendering temporary control of him. The henchmen refused to shoot their partner, till the man in the blue suit, 'tsked' and commanded of them, "Shoot him, and get rid of her."  
A single shot echoed through the air, and the man in front of you fell to the ground, his eyes wide with shock at the betrayal. You saw the another gun pointed at you and the flash of a muzzle. You felt a hand grip your arm and the feeling of a bullet nearly missing you, grazing the side of your arm. Suddenly you were running. Running away from the vulnerable spot you had been placed in, away from the man in the blue suit and his lackeys.   
"Don't let them get away, dammit." The man ordered, and opened up his spotted umbrella, as few drops fell from the sky, obscured completely by the dark clouds. The men chased through the alley, their heavy footsteps crashing against the damp pavement.  
You were still running, your tied messy (h/c) hair, opened out with the force of the wind, behind you, the strands flying with the speed of yours and Levi's stride. You had never come across a man this fast. His lean body seemed to almost race against time itself. Struggling to catch up, you ran as Levi turned into a corner, then another, then another.  
Your thoughts were as fast as the chase, thinking.. thinking. How were you going to turn the tables? Detain for questioning. Your orders were straight. You had NEVER disobeyed orders before, even if the situations were unfavourable. You needed to evade these men, arrest them all even, but more importantly you needed their leader. That man in the blue suit was not going to get away so easily.   
You felt yourself pushed against the concrete wall of a narrow blind alley. You glanced out and saw that the street was packed with people, and that the alley you and Levi were hiding in was enclosed off with a giant 'closed for construction' sign, and you were shielded from view of the street by two giant concrete slabs. The rain was coming down heavily now.   
Levi's body was pressed against yours, making it difficult to breathe. His arms were on both sides of your body, trapping you against the concrete wall. You were around the same height, so his face was uncomfortably close to yours, his panting breath cold, tickling your ears. The rain was pouring around the both of you, making Levi's black hair glisten and raindrops fell from the tips of his wet strands. His raven hair was messy from the chase, strands of it stuck to his forehead. Your clothes were wet and sticky and it made you cringe as you could feel every inch of him. "Levi," you muttered lightly, trying to get his attention.   
You couldn't see his expression as his face was towards the concrete wall, tucked away by the side of your head. You could feel his breath slow down by your ear, and felt his heartbeat slow itself, though yours was still pounding away at your chest. He shifted his head to face yours, the tips of your noses almost touching, his cold breath only an inch away from your lips. "Officer," he spoke slowly and carefully, and you realised that he had barely addressed you this entire week, "Are you okay?"  
His stone cold eyes seemed to mimic the clouds overhead, a flurry of dark and grey whirling within his pupils. They stared at you unblinkingly, the sharp gaze digging into your (e/c) eyes so much it hurt. The cold had caused a slight blush to creep up on your face, at least you argued it was the cold.  
"I'm fine, just a slight graze on my arm, merely needs to be disinfected and bandaged." You stated honestly. Levi released his gaze on you, slipping it down to your arm and then throwing it back up at you again. "Hmm." he said quietly.  
He shifted himself back and away from you, and gasped slightly at the cold that rushed in to replace his body, hugging your form and sending a slight shiver down your wet spine. He stepped away from you and threw off his heavy wet overcoat, unbuttoning the first two buttons of his wet white shirt, the creases sticking to his frame and highlighting every smooth edge of his stomach. You tore your eyes away from him and glanced at the street, sighing a bit in the relief that you managed to escape those lackeys.   
"We need to head back." Levi spoke softly, his deep voice reaching your ears before it dissolved within the loud crash of the rain around you.


	5. five

"We can't leave," you argued, thinking. Your orders were clear, arrest on sight, detain for questioning. You had faced worse criminals in the past and managed to grab them at the last minute. This was not the first time you felt disadvantaged in a chase, but all the same....  
"Do you intend to catch him with your bare hands?" asked Levi, his eyes staring at the empty holster beside your hip, "You literally threw away our defences." You frowned, "I'll admit that chucking my gun was a stupid move, but it felt necessary at the time," your eyes challenged his, "You should have called back-up."  
Levi paced towards you angrily, "Is that the thanks I get for saving your sorry ass, brat?" You glowered at him. You missed Jean. One of the reasons you both worked so well together as a team was that he was as stubborn as you when it came to orders, and crime. "If we don't make a move now, then chances are he'll have contacted the Titans, and gone off the grid. We can't let this scumbag slip away from our hands, He's the last of our leads, isn't he?" you asked.  
"Theres no point in us arguing here. The smartest course of action is to head back. You'll hand in a report and await further instructions." Levi grabbed your left arm tightly, causing you to grimace, clenching your teeth, "Besides idiot, you're injured, you've lost our gun, and calling for backup now would only delay our return, not prevent it. " He let go of your arm. "I want to get out of this filthy, wet place immediately." Levi pushed his sticky hair back, and loosened his shirt further.  
You gasped, "This is what its really about, isn't it? You don't care about the suspect you just want to run home to your spotless room, are you kidding? What is with your cleanliness addiction anyway?"  
Levi's sharp eyes jerked up to yours, a dangerous glint in them, silencing you abruptly. "It's not an addiction." He stepped out carelessly into the street and called for a cab, taking out his cellphone. He typed in a breif text quickly, and the two of you waited on the pavement. Him, for a taxi to take him to his germ-free heaven, you for an idea, ANY idea to pop into your head.  
But you had to be sensible, you could feel your heart slow down its pace, and you knew from experience that once the adrenaline drained from your body, the pain of your arm and your weary feet would come to you. You hated it. Hated that you had handled so much worse before, but today.. today you were almost as useless as a damsel in distress.  
But most of all, you hated not delivering on orders. A cab pulled up beside the two of you, and the screen of Levi's cellphone lit up. Levi smirked for a second and then passed the phone to you, "There, are you willing to cooperate now?"  
You raised an eyebrow, and dropped it when you saw a text from the Commander himself, with three simple words, "Return to office." But those simple words were a breath of fresh air. They calmed your fluttering heartbeat, and you felt a release as the anxiety you had kept curled inside the pit of your stomach flowed away. You nodded, and got inside the cab.  
Levi smirked, and sat beside you. He barked directions at the driver and you felt the heater in the car warm you a little. The rain still rang around you, but the streets were as busy as ever, a flurry of umbrellas and people running towards their destination. You saw people sitting within bookstores, taking refuge from the rain, sipping hot coffee and reading leisurely. The car halted at a red traffic light, and you breathed easy, the temperature in the car had become comfortable and the panic caused by the adrenaline had dissipated from your body. You kept looking out the window, trying to avoid Levi's uncomfortable gaze. He had been watching you carefully ever since you both got into the car, almost as though he were babysitting a child with a tendency of fleeing.  
You watched people rushing on the pavement, when suddenly.... your eyes widened and you gasped as you saw a familiar flash of blue- a blue spotted umbrella, with a man in a dark wet blue suit walking calmly, a briefcase in hand. You felt a hand grip your wrist, "Orders are orders, officer (l/n)," Levi smirked as he addressed you with your title. You glanced back through the window at the man in the blue suit who was waiting for the pedestrian walk sign to light up alongside other people. You bit your bottom lip, coiling your body, tense. Levi sensed your intentions and pulled his other arm at your hip to stop you from exiting the car.  
*CRASH*  
Your heartbeat stopped for a second, the screech of wet tires resounded in your ears, and the following screams of people broke through your temporary shock. You blinked. Levi's narrow eyes widened, and his body tensed beside you.  
The man in the blue suit lay on the road in a heap of bones, and flesh. You rushed outside the cab, and for once Levi didn't stop you. You pulled out your badge and flashed it like a beacon to the panicking crowd, "This is the police, everyone step away please!!" You stated calmly while nudging people away from the grisly scene. You looked off to see the car responsible for the accident, no, attack, had already sped away.   
"Tch." Levi stepped into the empty road, phone in one hand, and shook his boot furiously as a drop of the blood that now stained the pavement had seeped into its underside.  
The blue umbrella lay twisted and broken by the side of its deceased owner.  
o0o0o0o0o0o0o00  
"(f/n)?"  
"(f/n)?" The string of thoughts in your head broke as you looked up to see Eren, his parted dark hair falling over his ears, "Sorry but... sir told me to give this to you, and to meet him immediately in the infirmary."  
"Sir?" you asked. Eren scratched the back of his head, "Yes, Mr. Ackerman." You narrowed your eyes, "He's getting you to call him sir?" Eren shook his head. You sighed, and smiled at him, taking the clean piece of cloth from his hands. You got out of your chair, and headed towards the infirmary, glancing at the cloth, it seemed to be too clean for a rag, maybe it was a handkerchief? Why would Levi give you this....?" you stopped at the door of the office. No. He wasn't going to have you...  
Levi pulled you in, shutting the door behind you and pointed at a pair of boots beside the door. "Clean it." You looked at the shiny black boots, they looked almost new. They were slightly damp from the rain they had encountered earlier, but all the mud and, more importantly, blood had been removed. You sighed once again, resigning yourself to your cruel fate, deciding this would be punishment for your careless handling of the suspect earlier. You sat down on the white, cling-filmed bed. Levi raised an eyebrow at your silent surrender, and sat down opposite you. He watched you place the left boot on your thigh, scrubbing away at its heel with the cloth. His keen eyes scoured you, his unblinking gaze seemed almost natural to you now.  
His eyes stopped at your bruised arm, "Do you have medical training?" he grunted. You looked up from the boot, "No, but I don't need it for something as simple as.." Levi had already seated himself beside you, a bottle of disinfectant and cotton in his hand, "Stay still, brat."  
You flinched at the sudden feel of disinfectant, and felt Levi's deft fingers wrap a thin bandage around your arm, the fingertips of his left hand gripping your arm up gently, as his other hand finished its work on your bruise. Levi had changed into a fresh set of clothes after your return, and the scent of lemon and strawberry, probably from the clothes detergent, wafted into your nose from his shirt collar.  
You smirked slightly at the thought of the guy wearing such a feminine scent. Levi caught your smirk and stared at you silently, "That boot isn't going to clean itself." You glanced back at the spotless boot, and put it back on the ground, deciding it was clean enough. You pushed back a few strands of your hair behind your ear. You had been too preoccupied to even dry yourself, your hair was starting to frizz, and your dry clothes smelled of dirt and rain.  
Levi glanced back at you, taking in your sorry state, and a corner of his lip pulled down in distaste, "Why haven't you cleaned up yet?" You shrugged, a slight smile tugging at your lips. You had to admit his obsession with cleaning was way more crazier than you expected.  
"Would you like me to clean you, officer?"  
Your eyes snapped up at the words, his tone seemed to change from its usual disinterest and sounded, almost... enticing. Levi leaned forward, his dark hair falling over his eyes, and his scent filled you up again. Your eyes fell down to his long fingers, which gripped the sides of the bed you both were sitting in. You looked away, unable to hold his deep gaze. His grip on your bandaged arm loosened, and he trailed his fingertips down your arm. "Officer.." Levi released the words from his lips, and for some reason you liked the way he referred to you. He brought his lips to your ear,  
"Don't forget the other boot, brat." he pulled away from you, a smirk on his face, and the thoughts that had been temporarily swimming in your head snapped away, to be replaced with anger. Shit, I can't believe I keep falling for his shitty mind games. You grabbed the other fricking boot and slammed it against your thigh, scrubbing at it furiously. Fine. You would keep the sharp words and actions directed towards him silent for now. This was your choice to make up for the failure earlier today in the case. The slight blush that had crept up in your ears was now a full fledged red of impatience and anger. You felt a burning annoyance fill you as Levi left the infirmary, a smirk still on his face.  
Tomorrow, you decided, grinning almost devilishly, at the idea that had popped up in your mind, Tomorrow you would show him who was going to be giving the orders around here.


	6. six

*tap tap tap*  
"I'm sorry for asking this again, but.. are we really working with a criminal? It's really hard to believe commander Erwin would place this much trust in someone who not too long ago, we were arresting.." Sasha proclaimed, biting into a potato chip.  
"Oh man, just when we thought we had our first good lead, he turned out to be some mysterious undercover guy, and now we have to work with him." spoke Marco Bodt, "And now our second good lead is road-kill. We really have no luck on this case, huh?" he sighed, running his hand through his black hair, straightening out his bangs. "What do you think of all this, Mikasa?" he turned to the mentioned brunette, who was leaning against the wall of the break room, her dark eyes staring into the ground, deep in thought.  
*tap tap tap*  
"We're going to have a new member today." she muttered silently, to which Sasha's eyes widened, "Eh?"  
"We can't just keep adding members to our squad like this... there haven't even been any official papers issued about this yet," Mikasa bit her lower lip, her eyebrows pulling down, "That makes me worry."  
"As if dealing with Levi wasn't bad enough eh? Haha.." Marco chuckled, placing a hand on Mikasa's shoulder in comfort.  
"What was that, brat?"  
Marco froze in place, and Mikasa merely shifted her eyes away, 'tsking' at the sight of the short figure at the entrance of the room. Levi stood in the door frame, his hand on the door hinge, and leaned in,  
"N-nothing, sir." Marco stuttered, his arm dropping from Mikasa's shoulder awkwardly, his stance stiff.  
"Tch. Tell my partner, that damn brat to come to office on time for once. And that we're to meet up in Erwin's office." Marco nodded slightly and Levi left swiftly.  
"Sir?" asked Sasha, her left eyebrow raised, trying to hold her laughter. Marco shrugged, "I don't know, it just..slipped out."  
*tap tap tap*  
"Oh hey (f/n), Levi said he wanted to... whoa, that's new." Marco threw a 'thumbs-up' in appreciation. "I've NEVER seen you in those in all our time at the station, (f/n)." Sasha spoke and you grinned sheepishly, "Really? there's nothing against them in dress regulations really, so I wanted to give it a try for once."  
Mikasa, smirking slightly, "They look nice." you smiled widely, "Anyway Marco, what was it about Ackerman?"  
"He said you guys were to meet in Erwins office today." You nodded, and headed there immediately.  
"What do you think that was about? I can't imagine they're as comfortable as her normal ones." Sasha asked, to which Mikasa simply smirked.  
*tap tap tap*  
You pushed open the door to Erwin's office when you saw that the door was ajar- a signal inviting you straight in. You saw Levi standing against the wooden cabinet in the room, his finger wiping a speck of dust on its glass door. Erwin's chair was empty and it seemed like Levi had been waiting for a few minutes. Levi turned to see you, the same disinterested steely look in his eyes, until he noticed the change in you.  
Or rather he noticed how much he had to look up to meet your eyes. His dark pupils expanded in part shock, part disgust, as he saw the black close-toed block heeled shoes on your feet. They forced you to stand with your spine straight, but more importantly they added to your height.  
"Are those practical for field work, officer?" Levi growled, looking at the heels with distaste. You blinked innocently, "I was aware we were only doing paperwork today." You walked closer to him, and leaned your face in, looking down to make eye contact with the man. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing here, (l/n)..." He spat out. You looked at him, confused and stepped closer, "What are you talking about?"  
"It's a classic psychological tactic to.." Levi began, only to be interrupted by Erwin's entry into the office, "Sorry for the wait, officer, Levi." Erwin nodded in your general direction and sat down, in a hurry.  
Behind him entered a woman, who shut the door behind her. Levi's angry eyes flipped from you to the woman, and his complexion turned pale, "Oh no..."  
Erwin pointed briskly toward the woman who was standing with her hands behind her back, a grin on her bright face, "This is officer Hange Zoe, she's just been released from an undercover job, and her amazing intelligence capabilities have compelled me to make her a part of our squad." Hange pushed her glasses up her nose and waved at you and Levi grinning, "Long time no see, Levi."  
You turned in surprise to face Levi, who had his eyes closed, a nerve in his temple twitching. Erwin smiled politely, "Officer Zoe was also a part of Levi's undercover team within the Titans, so I thought it would be perfect for her to assist in the investigation."  
Levi growled, "She WASN'T a part of my team, Erwin and you know that." to which Erwin merely smiled his official smile.  
Hange pouted, her ponytail swishing, "Don't be rude Levi. You'll give a wrong impression to your tall partner there." You swore you almost saw Levi's pulse burst. Erwin continued smiling, "well, introductions can be made later, right now I wanted to ask you about filing the suspect report, officer (l/n)."  
"Of course, Sir." you replied. "Also.." Erwin added, pulling out a sheet of paper from a basket beside his desk, "The claim you made about your missing gun has been sent to headquarters, if your gun is found it will be reported immediately." Erwin's sharp blue gaze turned to you, "Can I ask you to be more careful concerning your firearm now on wards. We don't want it being used or handled without police knowledge, and It was quite a task getting you a new gun." You pulled your head down in shame, sorry for the headache you had given Erwin in paperwork.  
You were glad he was even handling it, and not one of your other unhelpful superiors, "Understood, sir, and my apologies for the inconvenience." Erwin smiled again, and then signalled for you and Levi to leave, "Please ensure Officer Zoe is well informed about the case, Levi and officer (l/n)." you nodded, smiling briefly and then shut the door of his office, you, Levi and Hange outside.  
"So, where's your desk Levi?" asked Hange completely at ease. "What are you doing here?!!" Levi almost yelled, and Hange sighed. She flipped her hair back and directed her question towards you. You grinned, this weird girl as interesting.. and she was the first person you had seen, besides Mikasa, who put Levi in check. You led her towards your desk, and passed her a thick folder of papers, "that’s all the reading on the case, it's quite a lot..." you told her.  
Hange merely grinned, and tucked the folder under her arm, "I'll be done with it by tonight.. heheh I can't wait... so much information on the Titans..." You were shocked that she would be able to grasp so much information in such short time, but decided to not question her talents. After all, Commander Erwin had vouched for her himself.. although, he had also vouched for someone else.. your eyes shifted towards Levi, annoyed and still as confused about his real identity as the time you caught him.  
"You must be the girl who caught him!" Hange interrupted your thoughts, "How is it working with grumpy Levi all the time? I heard you're to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't defect. Have you been behaving well?" she turned to Levi, who looked pissed, to say the least.  
"Shut UP, shitty glasses, and stop ignoring my questions!" Levi growled. While it was true that you were Levi's officer in charge, watching him to prevent return to criminal behaviour/activity, and not just his mere investigation partner, you were surprised Hange knew this. "Did you and Ackerman really work together?" Hange's eyes lit up, "We were on the same undercover team together, and I was his officer in charge at the time, fun times huh, Levi?" That explained it, but also further piqued your interest in how long Levi had been working as a consultant.  
"You were barely an officer then, so don't 'fun times' me you shit." Levi glared at Hange, "Why did you shift squads, shithead? start answering me for once!"  
Hange smiled, "Well, I would but I'm short on time, got so much data to go through," she gripped the folder tighter and freed one hand, bending down and ruffling Levi's hair, "I have to go now, see you both around." Hange left, leaving you with a Levi paralysed with wrath and humiliation. You had to stop yourself from giggling, and sat down on your chair, stretching your weary ankles, as your heels slipped off.  
Levi shoved himself in the chair beside you, and began typing up paperwork with a vengeance in his fingertips, almost unaware of your presence as he dissolved his anger in the monotonous hum of official reports.  
You cracked your knuckles, preparing to join him in that hum.  
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0  
The last few rays of sunlight were filtering through the window on your left, and the office was a busy hum of ringing phones and talking people. The constant noise of keyboard and rustling papers invaded whatever remnants of sleep remained in your body. You shook your head, rubbing your eyes and pulling it away from the glare of the computer screen, deciding to rest them for a while. You rolled your eyes at Sasha, laid out on the couch in the break room, asleep, a stack of papers messily strewn around her on the floor. Mikasa and Eren were seated opposite her, smiles on both of their faces. You flipped on your desk light, and saw that your "partner" was missing.  
You felt a heat on your cheek, and turned to see Jean with a cup of fresh coffee, which he was pressing against your cheek. "Hey officer, I thought you'd like a break." you grinned, and beckoned for him to sit beside you. "Where's your partner?" Jean spat out the word 'partner'. You shrugged, "No idea, though his coat is missing so I think he's gone outside."  
You took the coffee cup from Jean's hand gratefully and sipped. The aroma filled your nose, and you were glad for the warmth which burnt your tongue a little and brought colour to your cheeks. It was cloudy outside and chilly as ever.  
"You know, we should go out." Jean spoke calmly, sipping his coffee, still standing beside you. You groaned, "In this weather? please... Levi may be idiot enough but.."  
"I didn't mean it that way."  
It took you a while to get it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might technically contain some small spoilers from the anime, so you have been warned. Also: strong language advisory.

You placed your cup gently on the table, your fingers shaking a little. Jean merely stared at you, his light brown eyes piercing through his usual happy-go-lucky facade. You stood still for a while as the office darkened around you and officers starting flicking on the white tube lights. Your back hurt a little from the constant leaning forward and typing, and the aroma of coffee was starting to mix with that of the usual lemon bleach scent of your desk. Jean stood beside you, his long legs blocking your view of the break room. He leaned in, his ashen hair falling over, resting his head on the hand placed on your desk.  
You broke the sudden silence between you both, snorting, "Are you asking me on a date, Jean?"  
Jean grinned, a slight tinge of pink in his ears, "Yea.." You chuckled, turning your head in disbelief,  
"No." was your simple answer, at which Jean complained, "Ehhh??! Why not?"  
You picked your cup of coffee back up, and took a deep gulp of the coffee before setting it aside. "Police officers working as partners are not allowed to hold non-professional relationships."  
"Ehh? But we're not partners anymore.." Jean replied, releasing his arm from your desk and placing both hands in his pockets. "Of course we are!" you claimed, almost insulted at the thought that you were stuck with only that short annoying man. "I am Ackerman's officer in charge, and he's not a police officer, so while we are temporarily working together, officially you," you pointed a finger at Jean's chest, "and I are the police officers in charge of the investigation, and partners."  
Jean leaned forward, casting a shadow over your chair, "Hmm? It seems you miss me..." He grabbed the hand you had been pointing towards his chest. "Idiot." you grumbled, a slight blush filling your cheeks, "Of course I do, we've worked together so long..."  
"Stop flirting around my desk, damn snot-nosed brats."  
Jean's grin was immediately replaced by a frown, and his intense brown eyes glowered at Levi. Levi's distasteful gaze was digging into Jean's, and crossed the sight of Jean's grip on your hand. "Mind releasing my partner, Kirstein? We have important work to do this evening." Jean released your hand reluctantly, but not before getting in a word, "That's Officer for you, consultant." and left hastily.  
You smirked a little, "getting in the last word like that and leaving, you're just scared of him, aren't you, Jean?" you thought to yourself, giggling a little. Levi glowered, "I'll see to it that Erwin hears about how useless he's been throughout the investigation. And you.." Levi's steel grey eyes turned to you, as you swung your chair around to face him, "Stop acting your little fantasies out in the office." His gaze was sharper than usual, almost as if trying to intimidate you.  
"Oh would you just mind your own business?" you spoke under your breath. Levi eyes glazed over with anger as you realized he heard you, but it disappeared abruptly. "Unfortunately, you don't have time for a date, officer (l/n).." Levi's voiced, "We have worse matters to deal with." He practically threw a file on the table. "It's them."  
It was then you noticed his normally carefully parted hair was ruffled and messy, dirty even, and his previously spotless boots were covered in wet mud and dry grass. You raised your eyebrows as you noticed the insignia printed on the file he had angrily thrown, and wondered where he had been.  
"It's the Military police." Levi's eyes narrowed, and his deep voice dripped with contempt.  
0o0o0o0o0  
You practically rolled out of the taxi, pushing your feet off the pavement as you ran towards the brown army SUV's with flashing red and blue lights. They had surrounded the traffic intersection, directing traffic away from them. You saw officers in their trademark brown uniform with the printed insignia of a horse on the back walking around and holding off curious by-standers. The area near the pedestrian walkway had been carved off with blue and red tape, and you stared angrily as you saw your own officers being pushed out of the scene of crime.  
Levi walked calmly forward to an officer in brown, who pushed him away not allowing him to enter. Levi shrugged off the man's grip, moving out of his grasp and forced him on the ground with a swift kick to the shin. "What are scum like you doing here?" he asked.  
You gently placed a hand on Levi's shoulder, pleading him to not make a scene through your eyes. You looked down at the man on the ground, and pulled out your badge, "I'm from the Erwin squad," you saw a bolt of recognition run through his eyes, "take me to your officer in charge."  
"That would be me."  
You and Levi turned to face a short woman dressed sharply in uniform, her posture straight and stiff. Her straight blond hair had been tied back neatly in a bun. She placed one hand on her hip and blinked, her sharp even gaze rivalling only Levi's. "Can I help you, officer of the Erwin squad?"  
"Annie," you spoke out calmly, "Why is the military police interfering with our case? This is clearly our jurisdiction."  
Annie's only response to her knowing you was to shift her weight to the left. "I would prefer if you referred to me as Officer Leonhart, Officer (l/n). " She shifted her sharp gaze towards the crime scene, a chalk drawing where the man in the blue suit's hideous body had once been. "I suppose your superior's have yet to inform you- This man and all of his dealings are now under the Military police. We are going to be handling all investigation related to this suspect, and any information regarding his involvement with your homicide case is to be kept confidential."  
"The suspect report has already been filed, and you hold no authority to dictate our handling of this investigation." you countered, your head swimming with a blur of emotions- the very fact that the Military police have gotten involved, meant that this man was an even more valuable lead to the investigation than you had imagined.  
"Very well." Annie smiled slightly, irritated. "You were the officer in charge of capturing the suspect, right? Perhaps you coming here was good," she turned her back on you and Levi, and ordered two officers in brown, "Arrest these two. We're taking them in for questioning." She began walking away from you.  
"Yes, Officer Leonhart!" the two men spoke out and pulled out handcuffs heading towards you and Levi.  
Levi's black eyes widened, and his eyebrows pulled together. You sighed, regretting not telling Erwin or any of your superiors about your impromptu visit here. Levi turned his eyes to you as the men came in closer, and yours in turn, widened with surprise. He was waiting....waiting for you to instruct him on what to do next.  
You turned to the two men, slightly flattered about his actions and called out to him, "Let's not resist, we'll comply with them for now." Levi simply nodded, glaring at the man as he pulled Levi's arms behind his back hand-cuffing him.  
You felt yours be chained together and got into a car the two men walked you both towards. Seated in the SUV, you sat beside Levi, thoughts running through your mind. What was Annie doing? arresting an officer of the Erwin squad did not come without repercussions. Erwin would no doubt be informed of this, you sighed as you regretted once again not telling him. The minute Levi had informed you that the Military police were taking over the crime scene, you had followed him wordlessly, bursting with curiosity and anger.  
"Are we going to give them any information?" Levi asked quietly as the car moved.  
"I don't think Annie is planning to interrogate us about the case, just on why we wanted to arrest the suspect. But this is good," you smiled slightly, "Them taking an interest in the man means he was the right lead. But what interest do the military police have in him?... I wonder.."  
"The deals they've dirtied their hands with.." Levi spat out, "I wouldn't be surprised if the corrupt cowards have gotten into this Titans mess."  
You looked out the window as the car stopped, a tall skyscraper with patrolling police guards facing you. "Be careful what you say here." you spoke, wondering where all of Levi's hatred was coming from.  
"Tch."  
You and Levi walked forwards, past the secretary's desk, into an elevator and then entered a crowded office. You saw a Jacuzzi room entrance in the corner of your eyes, and several officers stopped their game of ping-pong to let you and Levi through. You saw about a dozen officers nudge each other and whisper at the sight of Levi, "Hey isn't that the guy who Erwin arrested?" a tall blond officer spoke out, walking out with a drink in his hand. Levi merely stared contemptuously at the sight of them.  
You were surprised at the mutterings Levi was causing.. so he had dealt with the Military police before...  
The two officers stopped you both in front of an interrogation room. "We will take you in for questioning one by one. Officer Leonhart is waiting for you inside.. I suggest you cooperate, you're going in first." He grabbed you by the shoulder, unlocking the door with his spare hand.  
Levi shoved into the officer beside him, "I don't think so. We are going in together."   
"You.." the officer spoke out in anger, his left arm grabbing onto Levi's wrists, twisting them and pushing them deeper into his back, "Don't resist." His right arm moved to restrain Levi's chest, but he was too slow.  
Levi's lean body rapidly twisted out of his grip, and he turned around swinging his handcuffed wrists into the officer's solar abdomen, hitting his solar plexus. The officer grabbed his abdomen, wheezing, his face in pain.  
Levi turned to face the officer who had unlocked the door and pushed himself into the room along with you. The officer simply stared, slightly in shock as you stumbled into the white washed room, Levi beside you. He glared at the blonde woman sitting inside.  
"Fine, have it your way." Annie sighed, "Shut the door, Officer." The man by the door nodded quickly and you heard the soft click of your freedom being shut away.  
You walked towards Annie, the short heels of your shoes clicking against the steel floor. Levi interrupted your pace, moving in front you and abruptly sitting down in the sole chair opposite Annie, and placed his chained wrists on the iron table between, the loud 'clank' of metal hitting metal breaking the soft silence in the room. You guessed the only cause for his actions were that he wanted to get the first word in, and stood beside him, glancing to your right to see one way glass. You wondered if Erwin and your team had been notified of your detainment yet.  
"We're not speaking a word until Erwin has been informed of this." Levi spoke calmly, staring right at Annie. You nodded, in agreement.  
Annie pushed her blond bangs away from her face, and her pale blue eyes gave away nothing of her intent. She shifted her disinterested gaze from Levi's steely eyes and turned to you. "Officer (l/n), we thank you for your co-operation in coming here. We demand to  have a detailed account of the day you attempted to capture the suspect, along with all possessions the suspect owned, which your team might have taken in as evidence." She had ignored Levi. Did this mean the military police had no intentions of informing Erwin? You glared at her, the cogs in your mind turning.  
Possessions? Was this what the Military were after? Their jurisdiction in criminal cases hardly ever involved homicides or people for that matter. Could they really be after what the man had on him before his death? So... the missing briefcase? You ran the possibilities through your mind, you had only agreed to the interrogation hoping to gain some information yourself.  
"If its a report you're after, there was hardly any need of this interrogation." Levi argued, "Why don't you ask your superiors to gain permission to access our suspect reports? Or are you brats that hopeless at paperwork?" Levi titled his head to the side, his calm grey eyes appraising Annie's, searching them for answers.  
Annie's poker face offered none, and you smiled a bit at how little she had changed. You had known her for almost a year, in fact you had worked together in a police squad. Her above average, no, almost genius intelligence and fighting capabilities had got her noticed by the Military police, and she had been recruited.  
You were not surprised she was giving you the stranger treatment after all this time...  
"I suppose I should make myself clearer," Annie spoke, her gaze did not falter from Levi's as she spoke, this time directly to you, "You are prime suspects of the military police in the murder and theft of the man you consider the lead to your investigation, you are compelled to provide all reports and evidence on the man over to the Military police and to suspend any investigation pertaining to him while the Military police checks your backgrounds and.."  
Annie rattled off into official statements in a monotonous voice, as you clenched your fists angrily.  
00o0o0o0o0o0o0o  
"This is my fault." Levi stated simply, placing a sugar cube into his tea and watching it cause dark ripples. You looked up from your laptop, pausing your typing fingers. You were both seated in your cubicle, the lamplight and glare from both of your laptop screens illuminating your faces. The office was quieter, many officers having left for home. It was late, and you could hear the roar of music from a nearby club, muffled by the thick walls of the police station.  
"So the military police have a bone to pick with you.. who doesn't?" you smiled at him. Levi looked away from you, surprised at your smile, and replied, "Hmph. They're just pissed that Erwin caught me before them."  
You pushed your laptop away, brimming with interest, "So Erwin was the one who arrested you? The officer-in-charge who caught you isn't stated in your profile, is it because it was the Commander himself? No, that's still strange.."  
"I suppose Erwin would have told you eventually.." Levi pulled out his phone, setting aside the teacup on the desk, "The military police were after me for a long time. They were quite.. displeased.. that I 'escaped' as a mere consultant under Erwin's command.." He kept his gaze fixated on his phone, scrolling through data on the military police.  
They had released you after almost an hour of interrogation, during which the both of you had refused to comply without word of Erwin, and Annie had refused to co-operate by offering you answers. Ultimately it was an hour of silence, with Levi and Annie battling in glares, while you stood silently, your legs aching, and your brain even more.  
Ultimately, Erwin delivered, as he always did. Somehow, he found out, perhaps Annie had co-operated after all, and You were released immediately. You were informed of a meeting with Erwin the following morning: regarding the sudden nature of your relationship with the military police, you supposed.  
"They've been looking for a chance to arrest me since.. I bet the shit-heads are going to take this chance. Prime suspects in the murder and theft of that perp, Ha! What a joke... they're grasping at straws." Levi set down his phone.  
You tapped your right fingers on your thigh, a habit that formed when you were deep in thought, running ideas through your mind...  
"Well, Officer?" Levi grabbed your fingers, halting their movement, breaking your train of thought. Your head moved up abruptly, and you bumped into his forehead lightly. His surprisingly soft, dark hair  fell on your temples, and he held your gaze in place, a smirk trailing on his lips.  
"You're my officer, aren't you?" he spoke softly, and his fingers travelled from yours to your wrist, tracing the pattern the handcuffs had caused earlier, "Are you going to let them arrest me?"  
You gently tugged your wrist away from his, a grin on your face, which surprised him, as you pushed him away, your mind already set out on your next move.  
"Of course not. We're partners, aren't we?"


	8. Pre-mission

Levi pulled his fingers away, and turned away from you. Unknown to you, a small smile was threatening to reveal itself on Levi's face at your words. He snapped his head back to you, his poker face back on, "I'm assuming you have a plan to back up that shit-eating grin?"

You rolled your chair back a few steps, not even Levi's usual sourness could ruin your mood. You turned to your computer, a grin still wide on your face. "We need to talk to Erwin before I can make any decisions.. I need his approval." You turned your grinning face towards Erwin's empty office, eagerly awaiting tomorrow morning's meeting. Levi stood up, silently grabbing and putting on his black overcoat, "Are you leaving yet?" he asked.

You rolled your chair back towards him, "Yeah.. I'll be leaving now." Levi nodded, "Good. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then." He then proceeded to take off his overcoat and place it back on the chair. Was he going to be staying back? But wasn't he just leaving?

You shrugged, for once your curiosity gone, overcome by the sensation of tiredness seeping through your body. You grabbed your messily packed bag and left, the exit door swinging behind as Levi sat alone in the empty office.

0o0o0o0o0

You and Levi visited Erwin's office in the early hours of the morning, you almost struggling to keep in your yawns. You had never been to office that early before, but Erwin always insisted on crazy timings for his meetings. Probably 'coz the guy was so busy every other time. "I've had a talk with the military police." He declared, a grim look on his face. Levi crossed his arms, "Well, I bet the scum are intent on getting their grimy hands on me."

You glanced over at him, surprised at how prim and proper he looked even at this godforsaken hour. His slick black hair was pushed behind his ears, and the bangs that usually fell in his eyes had been pulled back. His cold grey eyes had only the usual hint of dark circles, and you wondered if he had even gone home last night. You scooted closer to him, and woke up a little as the scent of fresh bleach hit you. You had gotten used to the smell of scented detergents on him and his surroundings, and to be honest (as weird as it was) you found it kind of comforting after all this time.

Erwin smiled at him weakly, and you were once more intrigued about the true nature of their relationship, "Well, Levi that's only part of it. I don't think the military would kick up such a fuss just for this. They've made their demands clear. They want you," He shot you a look, "and your team to suspend investigation on the suspect you both had been chasing that day. They want to take in the reins and control any investigation of the Titans concerning him."

Levi closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed, "With all due respect, Erwin, isn't that even more reason for us to continue our investigation of this man?"

For once you agreed with Levi. You were indignant about this. "Commander...A lot pertaining to the Titans investigation is hinging on him and the evidence we gathered from his death. You can't let them take away our leads."

Erwin sat there, his eyes narrowed at his laptop screen, and the three of you stood in silence for a few minutes, thoughts racing through everyone's mind on how to overcome the hindrance that had become the military police. You hated how much power they had, that they basically controlled all of the Public safety bureau and civil/local crime bureaus. They usually had zero jurisdiction in white collar and organizational, syndicate crime- which was what Erwin's squad handled. But they had found a way to sneak in a legal loophole, and tie Erwin's hands with it.

It was clear they were aiming for the Titans, and this seemingly petty civil murder allowed them to slither in and take control. Erwin spoke, finally breaking the silence, "Well, even if I could find a way to get us access to more information and continue our investigation, it would only be for a few days."

The grin from last night reappeared on your face. Commander Erwin had just offered you a string of hope, and you were going to grab it, and pull yourself out of this mess.

"This is good, Commander. A few days is all I need." you spoke out, almost swinging your entire body towards his desk. You grabbed Levi's arm pulling him into your momentum. He nearly lost his foothold and caught himself before he fell head first onto Erwin's desk. You gripped his arm tighter, "Ackerman here, can finally come to some use. You mentioned that while the Military aren't planning on capturing him now, it's always been part of their intentions, right?" You placed your other hand flat on the top of his desk, rattling a photo frame.

Erwin raised a thick eyebrow at your enthusiasm, "Yes, that is correct. I believe it would be a bonus for them if they found an excuse to arrest and detain Levi through this entire investigation." He rested his chin on his left hand, crossing his legs, "But, I do not intend to allow that. I have already expressed my displeasure at them interrogating one of my finest officers." He directed his heavy gaze towards you.

Your cheeks heated up a little at being referred to like that by the Commander himself. That only fuelled your excitement: you were determined to not let the Commander down. In a way, you were glad the military had interfered. They had placed pressure on your investigation, and maybe that was exactly what you needed to finally catch the Titans.

"Commander!" you declared loudly, and the thick blond eyebrow pushed further upwards, "I have a plan in mind to utilize the information at hand and continue our investigation, without the military police restricting us.."

Levi attempted to squirm his arm out of your steel grip, but he wasn't really trying. He stood beside you, a frown and a pulsating nerve in his temple, confusion swirling in his dark eyes at your sudden optimism. You bowed slightly, your hand lifted up from the desk and you pulled it towards your chest, slamming it against your heart in a kind of salute, "Please allow me to head the investigation and lead my team into a field mission."

Levi stopped squirming, and his eyes darkened at the almost military like pose you were taking. He ran through his memories almost systematically, trying to place this.. where had he seen a pose like this? You suddenly seemed really familiar, and Levi pulled through all his mental records, trying to place you.

You released your grip on Levi, placing the hand behind your back, and pulled your spine straight. You stared straight into Erwin's eyes, waiting for his reply eagerly.

Erwin chuckled at the determination that now burned in your eyes, and lifted his head from his hand, "All right, you have my approval, Officer (l/n). To begin with, you were always in charge of the investigation, but I would like to be informed of this field mission you have planned for your team."

As you began explaining, the aura around Levi became darker and darker, and a sour expression filled his cold eyes. Erwin on the other hand...

"For a late night idea, this is very well thought out, Officer." He replied, and a heart breaking smile crossed his lips. He glanced briefly at Levi, chuckled a little at his expression and turned back to you. You were nearly out of breath from the non stop talking, and your breath hitched even more at the sight of Erwin's smile.

"I'm placing you in charge of this, Officer (l/n). We'll talk more as soon as you have prepared."

Your eyes widened, and you felt an uncontrollable amount of pride and excitement bubble over.

"Sir, yes, Sir." In your anticipation, you had let your behaviour from the Academy days filter through you. A switch clicked inside Levi's mind. He crossed his arms, and thoughtfully examined the arm you had previously held, recalling the feeling of your tight, yet soft grip.. and remembering where he had met you before.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Officer (l/n)!" you heard a familiar ringing in your ears and you turned away from your computer, and saw Erwin leaning against his office door, one hand holding it in place. He flashed you one of his quick charming smiles before beckoning you in his office and went back in, the door swinging back in place.

You grabbed your folders and binders filled with stacks of paper quickly, almost dropping your papers in haste. You scrambled, your knees bent and wobbling as you attempted to catch a paper that flew loose of its binder, with both your hands full.

Before you could blink, a hand grabbed the paper before it hit the floor, and you looked over to the shoulder that connected to the arm, moving up the freckled face and bursting into a wide grin at the warm greyish eyes that met yours.

"Thanks, Marco!"

Marco handed the paper back to you, gently placing it on top of your tenth folder, "That's a lot of files to be carrying to Erwin's office, (f/n)."

You winked at him, full of nerves and heavily in anticipation of Erwin's reply, "Well I have a lot to say."

"That's putting it lightly," Marco replied, and your heart warmed a little at the adorable grin that spread across his freckled cheeks, "I'd offer to help, but..." He eyed the cramped papers cautiously, "Well, don't keep Erwin waiting. The team is really excited about your plan, you know?"

"Thanks, I am too!" you walked across to Erwin's office, still struggling to keep all the files and papers in your arms under control, and threw a grateful smile at Marco as he pushed the office door open to allow you to stumble awkwardly in front of Erwin.

"May I?" you asked cautiously, indicating at Erwin's desk with your eyes. Erwin almost chuckled at the sorry sight of you, knees trembling with the weight of the giant papers tucked in every corner of your chest, your arms tightly pulling in loose stacks. He nodded once, and you heaved a sigh of relief literally dumping all the papers on his desk. Sheets flew off the desk and as folders cluttered across his table, the loud thunk of the files resounded in the small office. You apologized as an entire binder fell into Erwin's lap.

"You don't have a habit of keeping soft copies and digitally filing these, do you?" Erwin asked, an amused expression playing in his eyes as he put some files back on the desk.

"Well, you see...," you inhaled deeply, preparing to make the biggest of your demands, "I need you to sign and stamp all of these."

Erwin's soft blue eyes widened, and his body tensed.

"These are papers that require your official approval," you continued, "They need to be sent to the central authorities for their approval by this evening."

Erwin's pose stiffened, and his eyes remain glued to yours.

You inhaled a little once more, before speaking again, "And then finally they need to be sent to the Central branch of the Military police." You said it. You spoke out the C word.

Erwin's blue gaze broke away from yours, and fell onto the huge pile of papers that were now covering every inch of his desk, and more. His calm and stoic expression didn't change but you thought you saw a drop of sweat roll down his jaw. You stood still, almost expecting an outrage. There was no way Erwin would be able to officially approve all these papers by this evening and he, your stupid consultant, knew that.

A slow, almost silent whistle escaped through Erwin's mouth as he eyed all the papers tentatively.

"Well, Erwin, what do you think?" you heard a voice speak up by your ear, and you turned to see Levi enter the office. He shut the door silently behind himself, and leaned against it. He had a smirk plastered across his face, and his calm gaze was challenging Erwin's.

"I suppose this was your idea?" Erwin exhaled briefly, breaking Levi's gaze. Levi spoke, "This should buy us some more time."

Erwin nodded, "Definitely, as much as I will be hating the paperwork, I have to admit, it's a brilliant idea. You haven't let me down ever since that day, Levi." 

Levi's smirk broke off, and he turned his face away from Erwin's gentle smile, "Tch. I was just doing my job." Erwin spoke softly, "As modest as ever, Levi, well Officer (l/n) I agree with the both of you. You have my assurances. You'll have these papers signed and..."

Erwin was interrupted by the loud noise of bodies crashing against his doorway. Levi's body moved away from the door, his reflexes quick as lightening as Sasha, Marco and Eren tumbled through.

"Sir!" Eren stumbled from above the pile of bodies, straightening his back and adopting the same pose you had on earlier: fist on his heart, arm behind his back, an apologetic expression on his childlike face. You smiled at the thought of a fellow academy student, watching as Eren spoke out, "Sir, I'm truly sorry about interrupting..."

His stance broke apart as a hand quickly smacked his head, "Shut it, Titan boy." Jean stood behind Eren, his slim muscular frame blocking the doorway. The hand he had smacked Eren with returned to his hip, and a condescending grin swept his face. "Commander, I apologize on behalf of my stupid team." You had to contain your laughter as you saw Jean attempt to help a highly embarrassed Marco, who lay face first on the ground, his slender body crushed by Sasha, who sat on top of him nonchalantly.

"Eheh. We were just curious about how the plan was going and were listening in, that's all." She spoke honestly, scratching the back of her brown hair, grinning apologetically.

You moved towards her, extending an arm, which she gratefully grabbed, pulling her off a red-faced Marco. Eren glared at Jean and grabbed him by his collar, "Don't you dare call me Titan boy! You were the one who pushed us!" You lifted Marco off the ground, his arm swung around your shoulder.

"You okay there, freckles?" you asked jokingly, and Marco merely nodded, red up to his ears. "Commander I'm so sorry for.." he began but Erwin merely dismissed him with the shake of his hand, a deep throaty chuckle bursting through his lips.

A dark aura filled the environment around Levi as he watched the chaos unfurl right in front of Erwin's office, his eyes covered by his now loosened, black bangs.

Jean grabbed Eren's hands from his collar, and lifted Eren off the ground, "Hey don't blame me for your idiotic behaviour midget!" Marco slowly shifted beside you and he moved his arm away from your shoulder, "Guys, please don't fight."

Eren's green eyes widened at the insult and he growled, "What the hell! I'm not even half as short as Levi!"

Everyone in the office froze.

Oh boy. You inwardly muttered, slowly scooting closer to Marco, grabbing his figure for comfort.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING SHORT, DAMN BRAT?!" Levi bellowed, his uncontrollable anger at the scene unfolding on the doorsteps, finally breaking through his calm composure. The pupils in Jean's amber eyes dilated, his body tense in shock, he released Eren's collar. Eren, oh poor Eren.

His green eyes widened in shock at the very words he had thoughtlessly uttered, he stumbled out of Jean's grasp, fear coursing through his every vein, "S-sir, no, I didn't mean th-th-that.." Levi was already stalking towards him, his dark aura overwhelming everything around him, and a glare sharp enough to cut through diamond.

"You call yourselves police officers? You damned incompetent shit-stained idiots!"

"Ehhh Levi, what's got you all worked up? You should act more mature." Hange spoke out, her ponytail flipping through Erwin's doorway, as she stood between Levi and Eren, a stack of papers in hand indicating she was on her way to the copier. You didn't consider it possible, but Levi's stare became even colder and you thought you saw a nerve burst in his forehead.

It wasn't long before Mikasa strode towards the scene, her Eren senses tingling. She shoved an elbow in Jean, forcing him away from Eren, and stood beside Hange, looking down into Levi's glare, "Eren get away from here." she spoke out protectively, her eyes narrowing "I'll take care of this." Levi shot daggers at her, growling, and the tension in the room increased ten-fold.

"Waahh you guys, everyone's watching!" Marco called out, a worried expression on his face as he helped Jean recover from Mikasa's attack.

Sure enough, the head of every officer, clerk, and visitor in the police station was turned towards the pandemonium that was Erwin's office.

Erwin chuckled, trying to restrain the laughter that was threatening to burst forth from his chest, and stood up turning towards you, "Is this the team you will be heading for the mission, Officer?"

You looked over every face that stood in the doorway, and you walked up calmly towards the last one- your partner, and you grabbed his shoulder. He shot a glare in your direction, but visibly loosened his stiff, intimidating posture under your touch. You attempted to pry him away from Mikasa, which he grudgingly did. You turned to Erwin, a grin covering every inch of your face.

"Of course, Commander. I'll need the best of the best."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: that took way too much time, I'm really thankful to anyone who's made it this far, I promise lots of fluff in the next chapter! god knows, it's been a long time coming, but what can I say?
> 
> Thanks again <33


	9. Mission one

07:25 pm, Outside Hotel Regale  
"The environment's perfect, you know, but this wasn't what I had in mind for our first date." Jean sighed, loosening his collar and kicking back into his seat. He ran a hand through his flaxen hair, pulling one long strand forward to his eyes, considering a haircut. He sat across you, dressed in a well fitted formal white shirt, and trousers.  
"For the last time, Jean, this is NOT a date." you declared, mindlessly flipping through a menu card. Jean stopped you from turning the page, placing a slender finger on the hinge of the card, pulling it out of your hands in one swift upward movement. "Sure, sure." His reply nonchalant, "We should at least order some coffee.."  
You sighed, "No, Jean, we're not here to.."  
"Oh come on..."Jean pulled the menu card to the last page pushing it slowly towards you, "I know you want it.."He pointed his finger at a photograph of the desserts section of the menu, circling a certain item on it slowly and purposefully, your eyes drew to his fingers and widened. He leaned across the table, his long hair almost falling into his eyes, "I know it's your favorite," his voice spoke low and sultry, pulling you into temptation with every syllable. You gulped, pulling your eyes away from the picture of the mousse chocolate cake. This was not the time to be indulging yourself with pastry.  
"EHHH??! You have an all-you-can-eat buffet!??"  
Sasha exclaimed beside you, her brown eyes stared gleefully at the waiter she had already called out to the table. The waiter smiled politely, "Yes, ma'am, the buffet will be opening for the evening in a couple of minutes."  
"Oh wow, Well, while I wait, can you bring me the Chef's special please?" The waiter smiled again, and nodded, pulling out his notebook and scribbling her order in it. He left promptly, and Sasha grabbed the bottle of champagne that had been slipped out of your sight, downing one glass instantly. Her cheeks reddened and she grinned widely.  
Jean stared as champagne trickled from her lips, frozen in disgust, his eyebrow twitching. You saw as irritation, followed by anger built up in his eyes, and before you could stop him, he slammed his fists on the table, shaking the glasses. He turned to Sasha, speaking in a hoarse tone through gritted teeth, trying not to roar out, "For GOD's SAKE'S you're ruining the mood, Blouse! This is EXACTLY what I meant when I said this wasn't what I had in mind." He turned his irate gaze to you, after receiving no response from Sasha, "Who said we could bring her?"  
"Ackerman did." you spoke out honestly, while Jean clicked his tongue loudly, muttering to himself, "Of course that asshole did.." He spoke out, louder this time, "Since when do you take orders from that chibi?"  
You ignored him, checking the time on your phone quickly and turning to more important matters...  
"Sasha, where did you get that champagne? I can't have you drunk half way through the mission!" you scolded Sasha, grabbing the bottle towards you. Sasha grumbled, "Relax, I was just going to have one glass to warm up my nerves."  
You sighed, "Well, Officer Blouse I appreciate you working on the surveillance for so long, so I'll let this slip. But remember we're relying on you." Sasha nodded, a wide grin reappearing, "Of course! Don't worry about it." You gave her a quick smile, relatively reassured, before checking the time on your phone again.  
"We need to go, Ackerman's shift is almost over." you told Jean, getting up from your seat. Jean nodded, checking his own watch, and sighing heavily, pushed his chair out from the table. "Well, next time, huh (f/n)?" he smiled at you, and you had to admit he looked pretty handsome in the formal attire. You looked around the open-air cafe, the soft tinkling of silverware and the hum of polite banter  filling your ears. You gently pulled off the recording bug from under your side of the table, shoving it out of your sight into your clenched fists. You casually tugged at the dangling earring on your left earlobe, placing a small round listening device into your ear.  
You saw Jean do the same as he brushed past you, grabbing your arm and walking out calmly towards the exit. Your heels clicked against the delicate wooden flooring, and the soft light from the fairy lights which hung around the cafe made your (s/t) complexion glow. You walked behind him, leaving Sasha behind who settled into the Chef's special which had just arrived.  
You and Jean paced towards the exit door, until you both came by a table, and Jean pretended to drop his phone, bending down and looking to grab it from the floor. You stood beside him, waiting as you slowly leaned towards the table on your right. You placed your fist atop the table, releasing the recording device/microphone you had held onto. Mikasa sat in front, and gave a curt professional nod in your direction while Eren, sitting opposite, grabbed the device.  
07:40 pm, Outside Hotel Regale.  
You and Jean walked out the cafe, his soft grip still on your wrist. You increased your pace alongside him, your heels furiously clicking away, as you glanced at the time on your phone once again.  
You both walked further along, crossing the road before abruptly turning into a corner and towards a dark parking lot. A tinted van, painted bright yellow, alive with the buzz of a noisy generator stood ahead of you. Long, thick wires attached at the back of the van ran across the dirty pavement, all the way across a lawn where bright neon lights flashed away into the starless night.  
The drivers side of the large van banged open and a dark figure gracefully jumped onto the pavement. Jean's palm slithered below your wrist, his fingers interlocking with yours. At the same time, the screen of your phone lit up and you turned your full attention to it.   
Levi stood by the door of the nearby nightclub's company sponsor van, the perfect vehicle that would carry all police and surveillance gear without looking suspicious in an empty, isolated area. He walked towards the pair of you, his eyes narrowing as you absentmindedly flicked Jean's fingers away, pulled your hand loose and began typing into your phone. Jean scratched the wiry hair at the back of his neck with his freed hand, and the blush he had been holding in the entire evening swept across his face.  
You finished typing, and picked your head up to face Levi's sharp glare. He stood a little ahead of you, keeping his distance, his legs set apart, "You're late." His voice was as low and cold as the wind that had suddenly picked up. "Don't look at me like that! This guy is the one who took his own time walking!" you pointed at Jean, who shrugged, unashamed.  
"You sure are...." Levi spoke, "....careless today." His tone filled the word 'careless' with bitterness, and he seemed more irritable than usual. You jerked up your head, taking offense, "Excuse me?" You had been carefully organizing and planning this for days, and on a sudden whim and with only a moment's notice Levi had decided to take over surveillance sending Sasha to monitor the hotel alongside you and Jean. You had to change the entire set up with Mikasa and Eren because of that, and you were constantly communicating with Marco on the phone who was updating you on his side of the hotel 24/7. Not to mention, the timing of Hange's security breach within the hotel had to be changed, and this had put her communication with the team on temporary hold.  
And he thought YOU were being careless?  
"Levi, you little sh-"  
Jean interrupted you, his eyes glued to his disposable phone, "(f/n), Mikasa says Sasha's encountered a problem with the hotel staff. Should we let her go, or do you think they might have identified her?"  
Levi shook his head, "No, that's part of the plan, let them take Sasha in. Tell Mikasa to back off and continue her facade with Eren." Jean looked at, an eyebrow raised and you nodded silently. He grudgingly typed the reply.  
Your eyebrows raised higher and higher with Levi's every word. You crossed your arms, holding Marco's communicator in your other hand, and glared daggers at the short consultant.  
"So now it's part of the plan to have Sasha excite suspicions and have her taken in? When were you planning to tell me that you had changed the damn plan, Ackerman?"  
Your phone vibrated loudly, and you turned off the alarm you had set for yourself. Jean tugged on your sleeve, "It's time for us to go in. Hange's almost ready for the 'go' order."  
"Change in plans, Kirstein." Levi interrupted, "You're taking over here. Me and (l/n) are going in."Jean let go of your sleeve, outrage on his face, "The police doens't operate on your whims and fancies, consultant." Levi stepped forward to the challenge but before he could speak out, you interrupted him.  
"Jean." you snapped at him, trying to attach all remaining threads of the plans in your mind and working out the different possibilities, "take over surveillance, and I'll update you right before we go in."  
Jean stood in shock next to you, irritated, "You're not serious about this guy just.."  
"This guy is the top consultant, holds the Commander's trust, and worked undercover within the Titans.." you spoke out bluntly, and Levi blinked, surprised that you were coming to his defence.  
"You are to follow his orders on the field, understand?" you asked Jean, who 'tsked' loudly, "Like hell I am."  
But he gave in.  
He shot one final glare at Levi, before stomping away, slamming the surveillance van's door shut loudly behind him. You switched on your listening device and heard a buzzing in your ears. Finally, Jean's annoyed voice broke through the static, "We're up and running. You totally owe me for this."  
"Yes, yes Jean." you muttered, the microphone on your lapel picking it up. You turned to Levi, an irritable expression on your face, impatience filtering through your tone, "Goddamn Ackerman, you owe me. Tell me everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING.."  
Levi walked beside you, "You might want to take those off, they'll be in the way." he glared distastefully at your heels and you rolled your eyes, rolling them off, grabbing a spare pair of shoes from the van.  
08:00 pm, Parking Lot.  
Levi waited as you put on the new shoes, and readjusted your microphone and hearing devices, checking the signals on all your communication. The entire time, your head was throbbing with the questions running through your head. You were calculating and re-calculating every aspect of your plan over in your mind- looking for weaknesses Levi had maybe picked up on, that you had missed initially.  
You concluded that the minute he had volunteered to enter the premises of the re-known Titan-owned Hotel Regale, he had acquired an ace up his sleeve. There was a huge risk that people would recognize him, and you weren't sure whether they knew about his consultant work or not. In fact you were surprised that he had managed to evade them all this time, and still keep a low profile working for the police. To some extent, it explained his confidential profile- everything about the guy had to be kept under wraps for everyone's safety.  
That didn't mean you were happy with it. You were intent on gleaning all information you could out of him tonight.  
"So you do consider me a partner, in ways." he smirked, walking beside you towards the hotel.  
"I always did, The Commander places his absolute faith in your capabilities, I figured I'd place mine in them this time round."  
"I'm a little disappointed that's the only reason, Officer."  
08:10 pm, Main entrance, Hotel Regale.  
The both of you stopped in your tracks, facing the main entrance of Hotel Regale. His voice was soft, out of hearing proximity from the guards that stood outside the swinging glass doors. "What's that supposed to mean?" you asked, a little more hastily than you liked. He turned his head away, towards the cafe, so you couldn't see the smirk threatening to throw off his calm expression.  
"Mikasa and Eren are still at their posts on the table, right?" he asked, throwing your mind off topic. You paused for a minute, muttering into your microphone non-conspicuously. You heard the buzz of a soft, blunt voice in your ear and nodded towards Levi, "They're eating dinner right now. Mikasa said she's awaiting instructions."  
You faced him, your hands on your hips, an indignant expression on your face, "It's about time to explain this all to me." you were growing more impatient by the minute. Levi turned to you, confidence and determination bursting through the seams of his dark eyes.  
"We're short on time, but can you trust my orders?" He asked, his eyes blazing, searching yours for any hints of resistance or weakness. You showed none.  
"Like I mentioned before, I'm willing to follow orders this time around, because I trust your intelligence on the Titans." You replied honestly, but in truth you were terrified of placing the one mission you wanted to go perfectly in the hands of  this short, cold, unpredictable ex-criminal of a consultant.  
0o0o0o0o0o0  
???, Hotel Regale.  
"This better have been part of your plan." you groaned, the arm that had been recovering from your gunshot graze a week ago, now throbbed angrily, a redness welling beneath the skin. The nerves in your forehead seemed to have popped completely- leaving you aching and unable to think straight: it was worse than a hangover. The familiar sensation of dread filled up your stomach, and you almost felt like laughing out loud at the stupidity of your situation.  
"Tch." murmured a soft, familiar voice, breaking through the ringing in your eyes and you heard a loud groan as Levi's body shifted beside yours. He leaned forward, resting his aching head on his knees.  
"I thought so." you muttered, taking that as a 'no' and you smiled darkly. The smell of rust and gasoline burnt through your senses, and you rubbed your eyes with your left hand, feeling a little more alive.  
You felt your right wrist jerk sideways all of a sudden as Levi lifted his left arm to run a hand through his black hair. You both paused, an awkward silence filling the two of you, as you attempted to process what had happened.  
Levi shifted his face a little to see his raised arm, beside his hair, and your wrist alongside it. You felt the fingertips of your right palm graze his surprisingly soft dark hair and you both stared, eyes wide, at the glint of metal between your right arm and his left arm.  
"Oh god," you murmured under your breath, lifting the handcuffs up to the dim light filtering through a hole above you, staring at the metal reflecting light off onto the grimy walls. You tugged your arm towards yourself, testing its strength and sure enough, Levi's reluctant arm came swinging along with yours, landing on your lap.  
You were handcuffed together, with a fading memory of what exactly had happened. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.  
You sighed.  
You shouldn't have left this in the hands of that short, cold, unpredictable ex-criminal of a consultant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I just want to thank everyone for all the support you've given me, you're all so kind <3 I hope this makes you feel like an SnK character, and next chapter onwards the relationship with Levi will build naturally, i hope. :)


	10. Chapter 10

???, Hotel Royale.  
"Oi.." Levi muttered softly.  
You scratched at the walls with both arms, tapping and hearing the knocking sounds for any signs of weaknesses.  
"Oi..." Levi spoke up, a bit louder this time, and you felt his hot breath on the back of your ear, but ignored him. Your throbbing headache had finally gone after almost what felt like an hour of groaning, and you were determined to get out of this place. You looked around, your memories evading you as you tried.. no.. struggled to remember why you were here.. how did you get here?  
Come on (f/n) you thought to yourself, mentally pushing yourself to recall... where were Levi and you going before you got here? Did they catch us? Your head snapped back up from the direction of your lap, and your eyes popped open. You stared out into the only hole in the cramped room, if you could even call it that. What seemed like moonlight was filtering through, which assured you that you and Levi had not been out for too long. Somebody had hand-cuffed the two of you together- which meant for sure, that you had been caught...right?  
"OI! WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE? HAVE YOU NO CONSIDERATION FOR OTHER PEOPLE?!" Levi finally snapped, his booming deep voice penetrating directly into your ears and you shut your eyes tightly, flinching as the raw sound incited another round of headaches. "Oh right..." you thought to yourself through the throbbing in your head, "...I forgot about the handcuffs".  
Levi had been placed in quite an uncomfortable position due to your systematic investigation of the room. You  were leaning towards the right wall, your right arm placed on the surface of the grimy concrete wall, and right beside it was Levi's left wrist. He was pushed against you, his chest slumped against your back, and his face almost in your hair. While you had been preoccupied by your thoughts, you had pulled Levi along with your flow, literally.   
Levi tugged his wrist away from the wall, jerking you away from the wall in the process, and looked at the specks of grime on his fingertips. "Tsk." he uttered, his palm still up in the air, an air of disgust around him, and he turned an accusing glare in your direction, "You better take responsibility for this, Officer."  
You stared at him, who still had his fingers up in the air, glaring at you angrily, and you couldn't help yourself. You burst out into laughter and this startled Levi. Your laugh echoed off the walls of the cramped room, filling Levi's ears with the sweet sound. He froze in a stunned silence, as you wiped a small tear from your eye, and a huge smile on your face, spoke out, "You sound like my pregnant girlfriend, Ackerman." Gently, you grasped Levi's frozen fingers in your left palm and picked up the ends of your shirt, wiping his fingertips clean with your chained right hand. He gripped your fingers suddenly, tightly and urgently squeezing them and you released your grip on your shirt end. You looked up at him, confused as to why he was holding you, and you saw a warning sign go off in his steel eyes. They were wide and unshaken, and he pointed his gaze slowly towards the direction of the door of your prison.   
You followed his gaze and saw a shadow lurk about, their feet blocking the stray light that filtered from the bottom of the door. You nodded at him, understanding that you were to remain alert and silent. You reprimanded yourself for laughing so loudly- it was careless, and you had likely drawn attention from your captors. Levi and you stayed completely frozen in your positions and had your eyes glued to the door and the moving shadow. You tried to slow your headache and calm your breathing- so determined were you to not give away the fact that you were awake to your captors. The shadow remained still for a while, and the both of you remained engulfed in a suspenseful silence.   
Finally, the shadow moved, the faint tapping of footsteps was heard, and you strained your ears to hear them fade away into the distance. The air around you was still, and dust mites swirled in your vision, illuminated in the moonlight like snowflakes. Your head had been cleared again, and you breathed easy as nothing but silence met the two of you for a couple of minutes. Finally, Levi squeezed your fingers tightly, and released them, and for a minute you almost missed his calming touch- the thumb of his left hand had been rubbing a relaxing pattern of circles into your palm the entire time. Levi sighed, "Idiot, I think you've forgotten the situation we are in, you need to..."   
The pitter-patter of closing footsteps occupied the back of your mind, and suddenly a loud thumping of scattered footsteps was heard, and a looming shadow completely obstructed the light from your door. Your ears perked up as you heard the strike of match, and both you and Levi abruptly turned to stare at each other, a flash of recognition in both of your eyes. The smell of gasoline you had been gagging down on, infected your senses once more, and you saw in slow motion as a hand popped out of the tiny hole in the door, a burning match balanced within the fingers. You felt your old friend dread return to you, and every muscle in your body froze in despair.   
As a police officer you had encountered many dreadful situations and had learnt to use the dread to your advantage by fighting using the adrenaline rush. But all your years at the academy, fighting the fear.. was useless, you felt every nerve in your body crumble at the sight of the flame, flickering in the dark room.  
"No.." you thought to yourself, memories flashing through your mind at lightening speed, "Why this..please.." With every minuscule spark that flicked off the flame, you flinched. Levi stared at you, confusion in his eyes at your sudden behaviour, he tugged at your wrist, trying to break the fearful trance your eyes seemed lost in. A vision of a burning room filled your thoughts, the flame reflecting in your empty eyes.  
"Which one of you is the police? Speak up, or I burn you to the ground."  
You gulped, your eyes still fixated on the flame, and you tried to speak, but your throat was frozen.   
Levi gripped your fingers, his thumb repeating its circular motion and you found yourself aligning your breathing to his rotational movement.   
He spoke out loudly and clearly, "That would be me. What are your demands?"  
A loud creaking sound was heard, and the arm popped out of the hole, disappearing. The minute the flame disappeared from your sight you awoke, sweat rolling down your jaw, and your breathing calmed. Levi sighed a little at seeing you return to normal, and the worried creases in his forehead lessened.  
"L-L-Levi? Is that you?" A soft voice whimpered out, in complete contrast to the menace it had held earlier. You saw the door to your cell push inwards, light rushing in to replace the darkness, with a sense of freedom. The light invaded your eyes, and your pupils took a few seconds adjusting to the new environment.  
 A small frame stood beside the door, and a crop of ginger hair peeked out from the door, wide amber eyes filled with emotion- staring right at Levi. The calming movement of his fingers stopped immediately and his grip on your fingers slackened. His cold gaze wavered and he spoke out,  
"Petra? What are you doing here?"  
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0  
"Wow, I'd heard you had shifted squads but I never thought you'd be working independently with a police officer." Petra smiled at you in reference. You smiled faintly, as you maintained watch on the corridor outside. The three of you were seated in one of the V.V.I.P rooms of Hotel Royale, which had its own security lift and entrance.  
The soft sounds of piano in the background and the gentle, warm atmosphere of the luxurious room provided a stark contrast to the filthy death-trap of a cell you both had been placed in. Levi put down his tea-cup with his right arm, his left arm draped around your lap as you held it in place with your position directly above him-seated on the wide armrest. You didn't trust anyone or anything in this hotel, and were watching the corridor directly outside the open door to your suite: the only entrance for foes. "She's not an independent officer, she's part of the Erwin squad." Petra's eyes widened at the statement. Levi tugged his wrist gently away from your lap and the string of metal tugged on your right wrist, "You can relax here, Officer. We are safe for now." Petra nodded in encouragement.  
You opened your mouth to question Petra, before Levi interrupted you, "Are you sure it's safe for you to harbour us?" he gazed at Petra with what you recognized as concern. Petra shook her head, a light blush speckled her cheeks, "No, no, I was at the end of my mission anyway."  
Your blood boiled, and for some reason this really bothered you- maybe it was the blackout or the filthy cell, or the incident with the flame, or the fact the Levi hadn't let you have a word with Petra since the beginning- but you were irritated.  
Very irritated. Your plan had backfired, communications with your teams gone, no sign of Hange who went in with you, and every second stupid Levi spent flirting with this suspicious woman meant less time to grab the briefcase and information.  
"Are you working for the Titans?" you interrupted their conversation, annoyance showing in your tone and Petra's calm amber eyes faced you. She turned her head to Levi briefly, before turning back to you and shaking her head furiously, "No, no, I am working undercover with the Hange squad to internally shut down the Titan's human trafficking ring."  
Hange squad? Both you and Levi perked up at those words- hadn't she transferred under Erwin? You thought she was a mere police officer with strange intelligence capabilities- you had never heard of such a squad in your career. "You're here on the orders of shitty-glasses?" Levi asked, as surprised as you.  
"Yes. Our team has been following Hange's orders for some time now. I've established myself in the committee that resolves dissent within the Titan trafficking ring, and came here because of the committee. A huge number of members and sponsors met today evening in this hotel, to discuss the replacement of their new chairman. They are still discussing it, in the underground basement the Titans own. I was supposed to deal with "the pesky police officer and companion" that had reportedly caught wind of these activities, had entered the hotel and been captured," Petra turned to Levi, "If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have.."  
Both you and Levi stood up from your positions suddenly. Something flashed in both of your eyes, an idea, a partial truth...   
"Was the former chairman, by any chance, murdered?" The both of you spoke out together, syllable for syllable, and Petra froze in her seat at the sudden movement. She recovered in a second, nodding hastily, "Y-Yes. He was killed in an organized car accident after reportedly receiving money in compensation for revealing Titan secrets."   
Could the former Chairman be the man you had been chasing that day? Is that what the briefcase held? Money from the organization that paid him to rat out the Titans? But why would the military police so desperately want such simple contents? Sure they were corrupt but...  
"...They're not that desperate for currency, the prestigious fuck-loaders." Levi muttered out loud, and you were glad that you were both following the same thought process. You turned to Levi, the muscles in your body aching to act out on the thoughts in your mind. "We need to..."  
"Way ahead of you, Officer." Levi smirked, his thoughts already interlinked with yours, and he turned to Petra, "We're going to need new clothes." Petra nodded, "W-What's your plan?"  
"We're going to the meeting." you clenched your fists besides Levi, determination burning through your (e/c) gaze and the thrill of danger coursing through your veins.   
0o0o0o0o0o0o0  
"DON'T LOOK YOU IDIOT!"  
You yelled out, heat burning in your cheeks and ears, as you grabbed a white shirt and attempted to pull it over your body. The only problem was Levi, as it usually was. You growled at the familiar feeling of steel on your wrist. Unfortunately, Petra didn't have the keys to unlock it.  
"I'm not you brat! Just wear the damn clothes already!." You and Levi stood back-to-back, hands cuffed together. You shifted your head to your right and through your peripheral vision saw that Levi was indeed looking straight ahead, away from you. Somehow you had managed to take off your uniform shirt using only your left hand, and now stood wearing your bra and a white slip. Wearing the small black blouse with the insignia of the Titans on it, that Petra had lent to you was difficult without both hands. However every time you lifted the shirt above your head, Levi groaned loudly as it involved twisting his arm backwards painfully.   
"How am I supposed to wear it like this? Your damn hand is in the way!"   
"Whose fault is that, shitty brat?"  
"HOW is us being hand-cuffed my fault?"  
"If you hadn't distracted me with that order that time, I would had easily brought down the guards that caught us!" Levi suddenly bit his lower lip, and you sensed a conflict within himself at those words.  
You decided to ignore it for now, "Ehh??!! You remember what happened before our capture?"  
You put down your hands, turning your face to see him from the back. He turned his face as well, and you could feel his soft dark hair brush against your forehead, "I never said I forgot. You're the only idiot with amnesia."  
You frowned, "That's strange, unless I'm suffering a concussion I don't see why I should forget it like that, it's probably the stress. But, what exactly happened?" you asked, curiosity bursting through your voice.  
Levi shifted his head away from you, and you were unable to see his expression. A stranger than usual silence met you, further piquing your interest as well as sparking suspicions, "Come on, tell me already, as your Officer-in-charge I order that you do."  
"You really don't remember your orders then, Officer?" Levi's voice was low and calm yet held underlying tensions and emotions that you were unable to discern. Suddenly, his speed never failing to take you by surprise, he spun around on his foot, landing gracefully directly in front of you. Restricted by the bindings between your two hands, you could feel his impeccable form a mere breaths distance away. Seeing eye-to-eye with him,  any complaints you had of him seeing you shirtless vanished, and you felt your very existence consumed by the deep gaze that Levi affronted you with. His dark gaze numbed your senses and your heart and nerves began reacting in ways you had never experienced before. There was a hint of a smile on his face, and his eyes swirled with emotions you didn't understand, no, couldn't understand.  
"You ordered me to kiss you, Officer (l/n)." You dropped the shirt in your hand like a hot potato, your pupils dilating, and the handcuff dug painfully into your wrist as you pulled against it, stepping back from Levi in shock.   
"Ehhhh???!"  
Levi turned his face away, smirking slightly, and looked at the clock on the adorned walls of the suite, speaking coolly, "It's time to go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Ohohoho what evils await you <3 I think this is my favorite chapter so far, hope you all like it too~~~


	11. The Elevator

12:46 pm, Hotel Royale:

"W-What... y-you.." You began speaking, but Levi had already tugged you by the wrist outside the room, and your eyes bid the warmth and comfort of the suite goodbye. As the both of you stood alone in the long corridor, facing the lone security elevator at its end, your mind buzzed with the cicadas of lost memories. You were trying to remember what had happened, how had you gotten captured so easily, and if you had really given that....that.. that stupid order to Levi.

Levi began walking cautiously but confidently towards the elevator, you in tow, his smirk constantly threatening to reappear, and he ran his free hand over the white Titan uniform shirt he was wearing, smartening out a crease. His ear had a small, nearly unnoticeable black button tucked in. It was the communication device Petra had lent the both of you, along with the Titan security uniforms. Petra had been really helpful, providing you with all that information and equipment. It was clear she trusted you, or Levi at least and you began to question the nature of their relationship. You stroked the device on the waistband of your pants, flipping the switch on- signalling your position to Petra who had left to resume her position in the meeting between the Titans. Levi turned to you slightly, "Petra said she's got your signal, and she's heading inside the meeting room now. She's left a gift for us outside."

You nodded, "Ackerman, I know this might be the wrong time, but would you mind filling me in on what happened before we were captured?" It was important you knew, so that you could not only erase the nagging sensation in the back of your mind, but also analyze the weakness you had perhaps held at the moment.

"Aren't we being polite today, brat." Levi smirked, and the calm, soft expression on your face broke into a grimace, "Are we trying our hand at humour, Consultant? Just answer the damn question."

"Hmm.." Levi's usual intimidating gaze arranged itself in his eyes and he stopped a few feet before the elevator, turning to face you, "Well, I thought I made myself clear, Officer, we were captured by security because of your order."

"My order... for you to.. kiss me?"

Levi simply stared at you, his eyes running over your face, breaking down every micro expression you were having. You shifted your eyes towards the elevator, sighing as you considered the thought that he was teasing you... or at least you hoped he was.

"This is hardly the place for such a conversation, is it?" He shook his head exasperated. "You're the one who brought this up!" you bit your lower lip in frustration, unsatisfied with how he was avoiding your questions.

Levi raised an eyebrow at you, his lip pulling down in a frown, "You know, for a police officer you can be quite childish." Your pupils dilated and the tips of your ears burned red. "No, don't you dare.." you growled, trying hard not to yell.

You stopped yourself from acting immature as you knew you were, and decided to halt the rain of insults you were dying to yell at him. WHY were you being this affected by it, anyway? You were acting like a teenage girl, and not the young, respectable police officer you were.

"Did you..." You began to speak out, your voice calm as you composed yourself to look him straight in the eye, but somehow your very words kept catching in your throat, "Did you..." You bit your lower lip, scolding yourself for not just saying the damn thing. Levi raised his eyebrow, and his crisp voice grew soft, as if teasing, "Did I.. what? Officer?" You were suddenly reminded of how uncomfortably close he stood, and wondered why that bothered you now, when you had been standing together with the handcuffs for a while now.

"Did you.. you know..?"

"Hmmm... Are you being shy?" Levi smirked broadly, and you flushed red to your toes, both a confusing mess of anger, and humiliation. His unfaltering grey gaze made your stomach coil. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

"How unexpected.." Levi mused out loud. This WAS unexpected, 'shy' was hardly a word used to describe you, YOU who spent your spare time visiting the criminals you had locked up in jail only to interrogate them further. YOU, who were the first to beat up guys who caused a nuisance on the street. YOU who was recognized by the mayor himself, for your invaluable input on breaking an infamous drug-trafficking ring. YOU... shy??!!

"Did you fucking kiss me, Ackerman?" you spat out finally, and your previous demeanor was quickly replaced. Levi put his hands in the pockets of his jacket, tugging your arm towards him, and bringing you closer as a result. "Wow, you changed personality real fast.. you should consult Petra about that, she makes a surprisingly good therapist." You really disliked how he kept avoiding the topic, but you especially disliked the way he kept talking about that agent.

"While we're on the topic, did you ever kiss her, Consultant?" You asked him, never one for the subtle. Levi arched yet another curious eyebrow, and he leaned back away from you, against the wall, his legs crossed- you stood just a few inches in front of him. "Agent Rall and I are none of your business, Officer." his voice was stern, but you thought you saw deep amusement within his eyes.

"You make it sound really suspicious when you talk like that, you know..." you narrowed your eyes at him.

"Tsk." was all you got as a reply, and you immediately realized that Levi was returning back to his quiet, brooding shell. But you weren't having that... you were surprised you had got him talking this long, you were going to maintain this streak for at least one more question..

"Goddamit Ackerman, I need to know, did you kiss me or not?" you couldn't help a slight blush from reappearing on your cheeks.

"The way you act..." Levi murmured suddenly, and you stood in surprise as he lifted his handcuffed wrist and touched your jaw with his fingers, briskly pushing your head up slightly in one swift motion. You felt the touch of his calloused fingers on your jawline, and frowned, lifting up your other arm to brush him away, but..

"You really are a brat, to act as if that was your first kiss.." Levi's intense gaze broke off into one of pure amusement and his smirk grew wider, much to your anger.

"DOES THAT MEAN YOU DID OR.." you finally yelled, impatiently.

"Yes, I could hardly disobey direct orders now, could I, Officer?" Levi sighed, tiredly.

You stood still, the words in your mouth dissolving. "F-fin-fine. Thank you, for answering me." You replied simply, and turned away from him, satisfied and yet so dissatisfied in many ways. Contrary to what Levi said, this wasn't your first kiss, and you wanted to convince him it was no big deal to you.

But it seemed YOU needed more convincing than him, as your face started turning red. Levi suddenly grabbed your arm, and your heart jumped. Before you could protest, he shifted his stare away from yours and towards the elevator.

The elevator button blinked a bright white, and the numbers on the small screen beside it began flashing through floor numbers. You and Levi turned your full attention to it, tense and nervous. "This elevator is pass-code controlled, who's coming up here?" you groaned slightly, stretching the strained muscles in your ankle and wrists as you prepared yourself for a knock-down, your mind now completely rid of other thoughts, as the idea of a threat overwhelmed it.

Levi bent forward slightly, his right fist clenched and a menacing bite to his cold glare. You saw the heel of his shoes scrape against the polished corridor, testing it for a push-off. You growled, and grabbed his handcuffed wrist in yours, "Don't you dare go one-on-one on them, Ackerman. We're handcuffed remember? We work as a team." Levi seemed surprised at your movement but then both your heads snapped ahead as a loud BING announced the arrival of the elevator.

The elevator doors opened, the softly scraping metal doors shifted aside almost painfully slow for you. The artificially cold air within the corridor nipped at your neck slightly, and you further tensed your calf muscles, nudging at Levi to do the same. You both stood in insufferable silence and anticipation, the muscles in your back straining as you lent forward cautiously, and you could hear and feel Levi's breath beside you. Your own heart was thrumming inside you, healthy as ever despite the god knows what events that had been occurring in the absence of your memories and after. You weren't planning on letting some stupid security guards stop it's rhythm now. There were so many questions you had to answer, after all. You couldn't let your team down, or whatever you hoped was left of them.

There was no where to run, you were going to fight. So you pushed back the nagging feeling in the back of your head, which reminded you of your previous failure not too long ago, and bit away the shaking in your lips that had arose from the insecurity. If you could just remember....

Your thoughts were interrupted by a small beeping noise which resounded into the narrow corridor, as what resembled a miniature bomb rolled out of the elevator.

Quicker than a heartbeat, Levi grabbed your wrist tightly and ran forward, your reluctant but agile form following him. You both slammed into the elevator, and Levi jammed the only button. You watched, sweating despite the cold artificial air in the elevator as the device rolled further along the corridor, and away from the elevator beeping ominously all the while.

The elevator doors shut in front of you, and you felt the metal box rattle a little as it moved downwards rapidly. Levi fell onto the floor, dragging you beside him, his slumped form breathing heavily. You took in a deep breath to calm yourself and placed your head between your knees, beginning to comprehend what had just happened, as the elevator rattled on.

You strained your ears for the sound of a bomb going off, and mentally prepared yourself at the thought of the elevator breaking, but heard nothing. Levi chuckled in relief, "I cannot believe the assholes tried to bomb us."

"That wasn't a bomb, or it would have gone off by now. Probably some device that releases sleeping gas or something worse." You stated.

The emergency speaker in the elevator emitted static and a male voice broke through it, ""

When a couple of minutes had passed and you were sure of not being heard, you spoke up, "How did they know we were up there?"

"The same way they knew about us entering the hotel in the first place, I suppose." Levi muttered darkly.

"The only one who knew about our presence there, or even our escape really, was that girl Petra." you mused out loud, and Levi was quick to spot the suspicious tone in your voice, "Don't you dare accuse my team members."

You snapped at him, "I'm merely stating facts, it my job to accuse people. Besides aren't you being too overprotective of this girl? You wouldn't even let me interrogate her."

"Your JOB is to retrieve the briefcase from the former Chairman, in case you forgot brat, and she provided us with plenty of information, I didn't want her to have to go through one of your gruelling non-senses."

"Gruelling non-senses?? I seem to remember my interrogation skills worked plenty well on you the first time!"

"That's only because I was aiming to divulge information and work for Erwin in the first place. Either way, we're going to have find out a way to get to this meeting."

"What's the deal with that anyway? Why'd you come begging to be caught by me if you were happy enough with your 'team members' anyway?"

Levi jerked his chained wrist to the side, violently jerking your arm towards him, but this time you resisted his flow. "Listen, brat, I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but we have a mission to work toward here. Stop getting sidetracked by your own concerns and consider your team members."

You gulped.. Marco.. Jean... Sasha.. and that goddamn mysterious Hange.. were they okay?

You almost felt like smacking yourself in the head. As much as you hated to admit it, Levi was right. It was about time you took charge of the situation, and reclaimed your team members from the Titans.

""

The elevator rattled to a halt, and the hiss of metal permeated your ears. You felt a sudden thumping in your chest that this time had nothing to do with that midget consultant, and you leaned over and stood up. Levi stood alongside you, feeling the strong tug of your handcuffs. You stood straight, facing the elevator doors, waiting for them to open, your instincts buzzing inside you. The blood was pumping in your veins, and you could feel the throbbing within your ears. "Levi, no matter what, I want you to stand here, not moving and very still, understand?"

Levi froze in place, partially out of order, partially out of surprise.. it was one of the first times you had referred to him by first name.. he found it strange, yet.. pleasant.

The elevator doors opened.

You inhaled deeply.

Six guards, armed but with their guns holstered stood in front of the elevator. They were all dressed in the sharp attire of the Titan's uniform, and seemed to consider the both of you as allies by the looks of your uniforms as well. But quickly, they noticed the lack of an ID card, or the presence of strange bruises on the both of you. Sure enough, you only had them fooled long enough for them to shift their hands away from their holsters for a minute.

A minute was all you needed.

You exhaled.

Levi's P.O.V:

Fast.

That was the only word he could use to describe the situation they had both come across. He merely stood there at first, until he saw the guns on the men and decided to jump off and take things into his hands. But the minute the men had their fingers inches away from their holsters she moved. He had to stop himself, and later he would be grateful he stayed to see the sight. Her (h/c) hair flowing, her long legs moved quickly, kicking out, and sweeping under the feet of the men. She moved forward, breaking a man's jaw with her head, and jabbing his partner in the neck with her shoulders. He understood why she had ordered him to stay still now. His immovable form allowed her to shift comfortably and move fast enough to knock the men to the ground. He stood as still as he could, acting as her anchor, straining his shoulders and hips in order to not be pulled into her momentum, and succeeded.

The men fell to the ground like rag dolls, and (f/n) returned to his side, her (e/c) eyes resolute and sparkling with the excitement of.. what, he would never know. He would never understand her, and he had pretty much resigned himself to that fate.

Though it wasn't such a bad fate to have, Levi thought to himself, smirking slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: W-O-W. This is the longest I have ever taken to update, I really apologize. I tried a lot of new things in this chapter, Levi P.O.V was something I just had to try, but will probably not be a common thing. Thank you so much, for all the support I have received so far, and my holidays are starting soon so I think I can go back to my old updating schedule <33 As always, comments and critique, kudos and support are always appreciated :)


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